Saudi Arabia to finally allow adult women to live alone without permission from male guardian

Saudi Arabia has officially authorized single, divorced or widowed women live independently in a house without the permission of the father or any other male guardian.

The landmark law gives Saudi women the freedom to remain alone in separate accommodation without seeking approval from their male guardians. This radical change in the law was brought about by a legal amendment that supports adult Saudi women and fully utilizing their rational abilities to become independent from their parents without fear of prosecution.

This was achieved by deleting paragraph B of Article 169 of the “Sharia Court Procedure Law”, which establishes that an unmarried woman of full age, divorced or widowed must be surrendered to her male guardian.

This article has been replaced by a new legal text which states: “An adult woman has the right to choose where to live. A woman’s guardian can only denounce her if she has evidence that she has committed a crime ”.

The text also says: “If a woman is sentenced to prison, she will not be handed over to her guardian after serving her sentence.”

The change is total and comes after long years of struggle by the women of the country, who have suffered constant demands from their families and even prison terms for the simple fact of choosing to live alone or become independent from their home, thing. which will no longer be considered .. no longer a crime.

According to the South African lawyer Naif Al Mansi, consulted by the local press, in passing the cases of rebel women who broke with their guardianship were even a priority for the courts, which, in light of the new law, will no longer even accept such cases.

In July 2020, Saudi writer Mariam Al Otaibi, 32, won a landmark decision that ended a three-year legal battle against her family, who sued her for living and traveling alone under the law on “absenteeism”.

She had to stand trial and after a controversial process, she won the battle thanks to the decision of the court which ruled that he had “the right to choose where to live”.

Saudi lawyer Abdul Rahman Al Lahem was Al Otaibi’s lawyer. Previously He said the court made a landmark ruling allowing women to live independently. Al Lahem said it is not a crime for a woman to live apart. He thanked the woman, his client, who stood up for her rights, and got a ruling in her favor despite her involvement in the case since 2017.

In his decision, the judge said Meriam Al Otaibi did not commit a crime by moving to Riyadh, the capital, against his family’s wishes.

The writer, who was arrested in April 2017 after fleeing her family’s home in Ar Rass, 400 kilometers northwest of Riyadh, She became an activist and a symbol of the struggle of thousands of Saudi women who, like her, complained about the abuse of their father and brothers – their guardians – and demanded independence.

This court precedent was used to decide another case that arose a few months ago in which a Saudi court dismissed a lawsuit brought by a man against his wife in which he accused her of being absent from her family home.

The old “absenteeism” law gave parents, spouses or any male guardian the power to file a complaint with the police against a woman. in case you disappear or choose to live independently without the prior permission of your guardian.

Con la derogación de esta ley, Arabia Saudita da un paso histórico hacia la igualdad de género y la seguridad de su población femenina que en los recientes años ha logrado reivindicar ciertas libertades consideradas normales en el mundo occidental, como mane partidos o automirósolas of football.

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