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Saudi women will now be allowed to obtain a passport and travel abroad without having to obtain the prior consent of a male "guardian", the government announced in Riyadh on Thursday.
This new rule will apply to women aged 21 or older. So far, women in Saudi Arabia must obtain permission from one of their "guardians" (husband, father or other male parent) to get married, renew their passport or leave the country.
A system that equates the Saudis to minors all their lives and denounced by women's rights organizations. "A passport will be issued to any Saudi national who requests it," the government daily Umm Al Qura quoted a decision of the executive as saying.
This measure is the latest in a series of provisions easing the shackles in which women are confined, initiated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
► Re-listening : Saudi Arabia at the pace of Mohammed ben Salman
The most emblematic of these reforms was the one that allowed women to drive a car implemented in June 2018 . Women have also recently been allowed to attend football matches, to access jobs formerly strictly for men, and even to set up businesses.
Reforms however insufficient in the eyes of critics, which emphasize that the system of "tutoring" under which men have virtually all powers over their female parents is still far from being abolished. Human rights defenders , almost all of whom are in jail in Saudi Arabia or in exile, also point out that these reforms led by the young Prince Mohammed bin Salman may be just a facade.
with agencies