Major boost for women’s rights

SAUDI Arabia yesterday published new laws that loosen restrictions on women by allowing all citizens – women and men alike – to apply for a passport and travel freely, ending a guardianship policy that had controlled women’s freedom of movement.

The development is a potential boost for Saudi women’s rights.

The kingdom’s legal system has long been criticised because it treated adult women as minors, requiring they had a man’s consent to travel abroad. Often a woman’s male guardian is her father or husband and, in some cases, a son.

The changes were widely celebrated by Saudis.

Other changes issued in the decrees allow women to register a marriage, divorce or a child’s birth and obtain official documents, which would make it easier to get an identity card and enrol children in school. Women are now also allowed to be legal guardians of their children. | AP ANA