Restrictions, reforms: How Saudi treats women

SAUDI Arabia on Monday marks one year since it allowed women to drive for the first time, a flagship reform as the petro-state seeks to overhaul its ultraconservative image.

But a number of policies remain in place which leave male relatives in charge of major decisions affecting women’s lives.

Here is where the Sunni Muslim kingdom stands on five key issues:

- Education Saudi Arabia’s so-called guardianship system places the legal and personal affairs of women in the hands of their fathers, brothers, husbands and even sons.

Women require the formal permission of their closest male relative to enrol in classes at home or to leave the country for classes abroad.

In July 2017, Saudi Arabia’s education ministry announced girls’ schools would begin to offer physical education classes for the first time, providing they conform with Islamic law.

The ministry did not specify whether girls would need permission from their guardians to take part.

Saudi Arabia has several women-only universities.

- Employment Restrictions the guardianship system has long imposed on women’s employment have been loosened as Saudi Arabia tries to wean itself from its dependence on oil.