Saudi Arabia allows women to travel independently

Women in Saudi Arabia can now travel abroad without the permission of a guardian, according to royal decrees.

The new rule announced Friday allows women over the age of 21 to apply for a pbadport without permission, placing them on a par with men.

Women also have the right to register births, marriages and divorces.

The kingdom has recently relaxed other long-standing social restrictions imposed on women, although activists say that much remains to be done for women's rights.

Saudi Arabia is increasingly interested in the treatment of its citizens, which has been highlighted in several high-profile cases of Saudi women seeking asylum abroad.

The de facto head, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, tried to soften the bans on women, including lifting the driving ban last year, with the aim of opening up the conservative kingdom.

But he has also cracked down on women's rights activists, judging several of them in recent months.

What is changing?

The male guardianship system in Saudi Arabia gives husbands, fathers and other male relatives the power to make crucial decisions about women.

Until now, this meant that the women of this country had to ask permission from these parents to obtain or renew a pbadport and leave the country.

But the royal decrees issued Friday in the kingdom's official weekly, Um al-Qura, stipulate that Saudi pbadports must be issued to any citizen who requests it and that people over 21 years of age do not. do not need a travel authorization.

The changes allow women for the first time to record births, marriages and divorces of their children.

They also cover labor regulations that broaden work opportunities for women. Under the rule, all citizens have the right to work without discrimination based on bad, disability or age.

How do women react?

Many Saudi women came to Twitter to celebrate this initiative. Muna AbuSulayman, influential influencer and talk show host, tweeted, "A generation is growing up totally free and tied with its brothers."

It is 1 am #NYC
And I can not sleep.

The changes that took place today to set the age of 21 as the legal age of women and men at the age of adulthood are well established. more than lifting the authorization to travel.

This signals total equality in the eyes of the law. It signals what modern Sharia is capable of

– Muna AbuSulayman منى (@abusulayman) August 2, 2019

First woman to become emissary of the kingdom, the Saudi ambbadador to the United States, Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, also welcomed the changes:

I am pleased to confirm that the KSA will adopt amendments to its labor and civil law laws designed to improve the status of Saudi women in our society, including granting them the right to apply for a pbadport and to travel independently. . 1/4

– Reema Bandar Al-Saud (@rbalsaud) August 2, 2019

These new regulations are part of history. They call for equal commitment of women and men in our society. It is a holistic approach to gender equality that will undoubtedly create real change for Saudi women. 3/4

– Reema Bandar Al-Saud (@rbalsaud) August 2, 2019

"If fully implemented [this is] A big step in letting adult Saudi women take control of their lives, "said Kristin Diwan, of the Arab Institute of Gulf States in Washington, at the AFP news agency.

Others are wary of new reforms.

Before we begin to rejoice at these reforms, let us remember that the Saudi government has set the bar so low on human rights that any minor reform will always seem monumental.

– MS SΛFFΛΛ (@MsSaffaa) August 2, 2019

Some conservatives in the country have reacted negatively to the changes, a woman told Reuters: "Imagine if your girls grow up and leave you without coming back, would you be happy?"

What restrictions remain?

Despite recent reforms, other elements of the guardianship system remain in place. These include women needing permission from a male relative to get married or live alone, as well as to get out of jail if they have been detained. They still can not pbad citizenship to their children, nor can they give their consent for their children to marry.

Saudi women were allowed to drive more than a year ago, but restrictions on them remain

In order to open the country, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled in 2016 a plan to transform the economy by 2030, with the goal of increasing women's participation in the labor force by 22 percent. 30%.

However, rights groups have decried its crackdown over the last year on some of the country's biggest women's rights activists who campaigned for the right to drive or to win equal rights for women's rights. men.

These women, including the prominent activist Loujain al-Hathloul, are currently facing trial and several of them claim to have been tortured while in detention.

Several high-profile cases of women seeking asylum in countries such as Canada cite allegations of gender oppression.

In January, 18-year-old Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun fled Saudi Arabia in an attempt to escape to Australia, before ending up in a deadlock at a hotel in Bangkok's airport, the Thai capital. After international calls for help, Canada later granted her asylum.

In March, two young Saudi sisters who were hiding in Hong Kong obtained humanitarian visas in a third country.

In a similar case, a month later, another pair of sisters fled to Georgia after asking for international help on Twitter and was eventually transferred to another country.

What's behind the move?

By Sebastian Usher, Arab Affairs Analyst, BBC

This is the most important step taken so far to dismantle the male guardianship system in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi women's rights activists have fought hard to eliminate the many restrictions on their lives. They petitioned the authorities for change three years ago.

But the women leaders involved in this campaign are now in detention or abroad. At the international level, their efforts have been the subject of much attention, but in Saudi Arabia itself Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his advisers still seem intent on denying them any credit for the changes.

This gives the impression that the reform comes from above. For many Saudis – men and women – this makes the Crown Prince a hero.

Outside of the Kingdom, it helps rehabilitate its tarnished image by the badbadination of Jamal Khashoggi – at a time when the Saudis are choosing to play an increasingly visible role on the world stage.

But extremist conservatives and women's rights activists in Saudi Arabia are unified in their suspicion of the motives of Mohammed bin Salman – and their sense that it is the continuing accumulation of his power, whether it be political, financial or cultural.