Saudi Arabia lifts travel restrictions on women, grants them greater control - SABC News - Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa's news leader.

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 travelhas 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.

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. 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.at the hands of Saudi agents caused a global outcry, however, and the Gulf Arab state has been widely criticized for the arrest and alleged torture of nearly a dozen women activists.

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

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