Saudi Arabia lifts travel restrictions on women, grants them greater control

By Marwa Rashad and Stephen Kalin

 

FILE PHOTO: Saudi students walk at the exhibition to guide job seekers at Glowork Women's Career Fair in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia October 2, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser

 

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has allowed adult women to travel without permission and granted them more control over family matters, further eroding a heavily criticised male guardianship system at a time of heightened scrutiny over its human rights record.

 

A series of royal decrees published by the official gazette on Friday stipulated that a Saudi passport should be issued to any citizen who applies for it and that any person above the age of 21 does not need permission to travel.

 

The amendments to regulations also grant women for the first time the right to register child birth, marriage or divorce and to be issued official family documents and be eligible as a guardian to children who are minors.

 

Riyadh has long endured international censure over the status of women, who rights groups say are often treated as second-class citizens under rules requiring them to get the consent of a male guardian for important decisions throughout their entire lives, regardless of age.

 

Muna AbuSulayman, a prominent Saudi influencer and a former talk show host, took to Twitter along with thousands ofSaudi women to celebrate what many described as a new era.

 

"A generation growing up completely free and equal to their brothers," she said, referring to the freedom to travel.

 

The kingdom's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has eased social restrictions, such as lifting a driving ban for women last year, as part of a push to open up the conservative Muslim kingdom and transform the economy.

 

Last year's murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi agents caused a global outcry, however, and the Gulf Arab state has been widely criticised for the arrest and alleged torture of nearly a dozen women activists.

 

Several high-profile cases of young women seeking asylum abroad on claims of gender-based repression have added further pressure on Riyadh over the male guardian system.

 

Guardianship's status between law and custom makes it a thorny issue for Prince Mohammed, who indicated last year he favoured ending the system but stopped short of endorsing its annulment.

 

Other parts of the system remain intact. Women still need permission from a male relative to marry or live on their own.

 

A hashtag calling for marriage without a guardian's consent was among the top trending along with a hashtag thanking the crown prince and another touting the new travel rules.

 

SOCIAL CUSTOMS

The decrees published Friday also covered employment regulations that would expand work opportunities for women, who represent a big portion of unemployed Saudis. They stipulated that all citizens have the right to work without facing any discrimination based on gender, disability or age.

 

Prince Mohammed unveiled an ambitious plan in 2016 to transform the economy by 2030, which envisages increasing women's participation in the workforce to 30% from 22%.

 

Saudi Arabia ranked 141 of 149 countries in the 2018 Global Gender Gap, a World Economic Forum study on how women fare in economic and political participation, health and education.

 

Many Saudi officials say the fault lies in implementation and not government policy.

 

Without a codified system of law to go with the texts making up sharia, or Islamic law, the Saudi police and judiciary have long cited social customs in enforcing prohibitions on women. Many aspects of guardianship stem from informal practice.

 

"Mohammed bin Salman has dedicated himself to fixing what extremists broke ... This is not about openness as some call it, it is about equal rights for all," a user called Wael tweeted.

 

The prince has pushed back against the religious establishment, including by arresting scores of clerics and dissidents.

 

Many citizens remain wary of the fast pace of change.

 

"We are a Muslim community not a Western one, may God keep our daughters safe from all evils," said Sarah, a Saudiwoman in her late 40s who declined to give her surname.

 

"Imagine if your girls grow up and leave you and don't return, would you be happy?" she told Reuters.

 

(Reporting by Marwa Rashad and Stephen Kalin; Editing by Ghaida Ghantous, Tom Brown and Cynthia Osterman)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-08-02

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im not a internet feminist warrior by any stretch,

but this is fantastic news, now they can flee

oppressors if they want and still havnt got their spirit

beaten out of them

2 hours ago, webfact said:

We are a Muslim community not a Western one, may God keep our daughters safe from all evils," said Sarah, a Saudiwoman in her late 40s who declined to give her surname.

 

"Imagine if your girls grow up and leave you and don't return, would you be happy?"

It’s a start, but as the above shows, there is still a long way to go. 

Still crawling out of the dark ages I feel so lucky to be born in the west it’s about <deleted> time you backwards @$&#*

They have just moved from 1288AD to 1920AD. Nice progress. Still a long way to go. MBS is a blight on the House of Saud. And the nation is the enemy of most of mankind. 

Odd choice of word. grants them greater control

 

Not freedom?

As long as governments continue to recognize religious mythological teachings, lives are not free and faith rules over logic, reason, and knowledge.   

 

Modern society long ago dismissed deities from Roman, Greek, and Norse mythology as false gods.  Yet somehow, with no additional proof people now accept the deities from Christian and Muslim beliefs as "true" gods? 

 

And of course 100's of interpretations are accepted as the Truth or the Way , whichever will put more money in the Pastors or Imams pocket

Those who have lived and worked in the Middle East ,will know that words and press releases do not mean a thing ,women in Saudi Arabia will still need permission to obtain a passport ,and officialdom will make it near impossible for most to obtain ,the religious sections of Saudi society will not want to let go .....

So expect to see some of them wandering up and down Soi 3 and 4 Nana trailing along subserviently behind their husbands carrying the shopping and everything bar the kitchen sink.

2 hours ago, legend49 said:

Odd choice of word. grants them greater control

 

Not freedom?

Does any ordinary citizen in Saudi Arabia enjoy anything like freedom?

7 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Does any ordinary citizen in Saudi Arabia enjoy anything like freedom?

With the huge volume of arms that the USA sells to Saudi its to be hoped they have the "freedom" to bear arms, or do they keep them all locked up?

Now they just need to get rid of those miniature plows some of the older women wear around their mouths,, crazy

7 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

They have just moved from 1288AD to 1920AD. Nice progress. Still a long way to go. MBS is a blight on the House of Saud. And the nation is the enemy of most of mankind. 

 

Most of the world, as in "mankind", does not treat the nation of Saudi Arabia as its enemy. You must be thinking about an alternate reality. Perhaps one in which you rants carry more weight?

Some off topic posts have been removed. 

 

A post in violation of fair use policy has been removed. 

all civilizations are not equal

On 8/2/2019 at 7:26 AM, webfact said:

Imagine if your girls grow up and leave you and don't return, would you be happy?" she told Reuters.

Yes, it is far better to keep them locked up and then marry them off to an old man!  The proof of all these changes will be in the practice.  I suspect that any woman trying to travel alone will have the application delayed so a male member of her family can be consulted.  

Good coz there's some fit looking Saudi women, I was there in 1972 even the goat looked good after 3 months 

24 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Good coz there's some fit looking Saudi women, I was there in 1972 even the goat looked good after 3 months 

And I reckon a great percentage of those women don't mind being covered from head to toe, as they are fat, hairy and ugly, so they can hide it........and not worry about how they look!!

On 8/2/2019 at 2:57 PM, Cadbury said:

So expect to see some of them wandering up and down Soi 3 and 4 Nana

 

You're late. Saw em in 96.????

ok to drive but stoned to death if convicted of adultery, real progressives lol

Troll post removed.

 

Cant resist, the guy says to his new Saudi wife, thank God you were a virgin, I want to thank whoever/whatever kept you this way for me, she says, thank my ass. ????????

Inflammatory post reported and removed.