Saudi Arabian women celebrate as travel reforms come into effect
Hundreds of Saudi Arabian women crossed into Bahrain on their own on Monday as reforms lifting restrictions on travelling without permission from a male guardian came into effect.
Royal decrees issued at the start of the month ended the need for women to obtain the permission of male guardians to travel or get a passport.
The move is part of expanded social reforms led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that last year granted women the right to drive, study at university, undergo surgery or get a job without the permission of a male guardian.
Women took to social media to praise the new liberalisation.
“The women’s age begins,” one woman wrote on Twitter. Another thanked the Crown Prince: “Thank you, MBS.”
Under the old system, women had to seek permission from a guardian – usually their father or husband, but sometimes a brother or son – to marry, apply for a passport or leave Saudi Arabia.
The new decrees grant every citizen, man or woman, the right to freely obtain a passport, but did retain some restrictions on the under-21s and the rights of women to apply for a passport for their children.
Paternal permission is still required for under-21s to travel abroad and only the father can apply for passports for children under 15. The kingdom’s passport department on Monday said that those under 21 can travel without parents’ permission if they have proof of enrolment to study abroad.
Aside from travel, the reforms grant women the right to register a child’s birth, a marriage or divorce, be issued official family documents and be eligible as a guardian to minor children.
Passports can be requested by parents for an adopted child, whereas previously special permission was needed.