‘The wheels of time will not turn back’: Saudi women eye new freedoms

Currently, Saudi women still require the approval of a male relative or spouse to obtain a passport, travel outside Saudi Arabia, or even study abroad. It’s a patriarchal system controlling women’s lives that has left the kingdom out of step with the rest of the world for decades.

But the country is set to end those travel restrictions. Saudi newspaper Okaz recently announced that the government has formed a committee to review “ending guardianship of a minor at the age of 18,” discontinuing a system that has treated adult women functionally and legally as minors for their entire lives.

For some citizens, this is an unwelcome step that would dismantle the core part of the so-called male guardianship system, under which Saudi women also needed the permission of a male relative or spouse to work or to access basic services in years past. But for others, this

Why now?An economic agendaReception in the kingdomConcerns and caveats