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However, women remain subject to restrictions – particularly in the "male guardianship system" in which the father, brother, husband or son has the power to make important decisions on their behalf.
This control was evident in early January when a young Saudi woman fleeing her family locked herself up in a hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand, and refused to be deported, saying that she feared for her life if she went home.
Saudi women must obtain the approval of a male parent to be able to apply for a pbadport, travel abroad, study abroad with the help of the government , get married, get out of prison or even leave a shelter for victims of abuse.
"This is a phenomenon that affects all Saudi women and girls, from birth to death, and they are treated primarily as minors," said US-Egyptian journalist Mona Eltahawy at the BBC
United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 2000 and declared that gender equality is guaranteed by Islamic law, sharia law .
The conservative kingdom also publishes sports for girls in public schools and allows women to attend football matches in the stadiums.
However, in February 2018, UN experts expressed their concern about the country's inability to enact a specific law prohibiting discrimination against women, as well as 39, in the absence of a legal definition of discrimination against women.
According to experts, the male guardianship system is "the main obstacle to women's participation in society and the economy".
Human Rights Watch, an NGO, Human Rights Watch reported in 2016 that the kingdom" clearly and directly imposes the need for guardianship in certain areas "and that many women who challenged the system were targeted for prosecution and detention.
In 2008, human rights defender Samar Badawi, who claims to have been physically badaulted by her own father, fled the family home and found refuge in a shelter. She then started legal proceedings to remove her guardianship from her father.
In retaliation, she says that her father has filed a complaint for "disobedience" against him. A judge ordered her arrest in 2010 and spent seven months in detention until activists drew attention to her case and the authorities withdrew the act from her arrest. charge
Mariam Al-Otaibi, another activist, spent three months in prison in 2017 after her father accused her of "disobedience".
She ran away from home after being badaulted by her father and brother in retaliation for leading social media campaigns against the guardianship system.
His release from prison was celebrated as a victory for other activists because it occurred without a guardian.
Even women who fled abroad could not avoid detention.
In 2017, Dina Ali Lasloom attempted to escape a forced marriage, but was fired against her will in Saudi Arabia when she established a connection with the Philippines and Australia.
Human Rights Watch reported receiving information that Lasloom was being held in a shelter. It is not clear if she has ever been sent back to her family.
Activists fighting for women's rights have long called for an end to the guardianship system.
In September 2016, they filed a petition with 14,000 signatures to the Royal Court, after the campaign "The Saudi women want to abolish the guardianship system" became viral on Twitter.
The Saudi Grand Mufti Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh of Saudi Arabia described the petition as "a crime against the Islamic religion and an existential threat to Saudi society", but five months later, King Salman made a decree the access to public services without having to obtain the approval of a male guardian.
And in September 2017, the king announced that women would be allowed to drive for the first time. The activists celebrated the news, but also promised to step up the campaign for gender equality.
As early as May 2018, just weeks before the decree allowing women to come into force, the Saudi authorities began to suppress the women's rights movement by calling dozens of activists, including Samar Badawi. The men who had supported the cause were also arrested.
Several detainees have been charged with serious crimes, including "suspicious contacts with foreigners", which could result in long periods of imprisonment. At the same time, the media lined up with the government called them "traitors".
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