Saudi Arabia has begun to implement its new law allowing women to travel without the permission of a male “guardian”, its state news agency has announced.
The royal decree approved earlier this month stipulated that a Saudi passport should be issued to any citizen who applies for it and any person over the age of 21 will be able to travel without permission.
The ultra-conservative Islamic state also allowed women to exercise greater control over family matters.
Women were granted 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.
“The passports and civil status departments and their branches in all regions of the kingdom have started to implement the amendments stipulated in the royal decree,” the SPA report said, citing an interior ministry source. [The Independent] Read more
