Just In: Saudi Arabia May Soon Allow Women To Travel Without Guardian’s Consent

Up until now, Saudi women who wanted to travel needed their guardian’s consent to do so. However, a new report suggests that this may not be the case for long.

According to the Financial Times, Saudi Arabia is planning to remove the guardianship system in a bid to ease social restrictions.

Currently, this guardianship rule applies to men under the age of 21 as well.

The Financial Times also reports that a government committee has been instructed to relook into the current guardianship system.

The new rule is expected to allow male and females over the age of 18 to travel without guardian approvals.

We have already seen landmark breakthroughs for women in the country over the past few years among which include the right to drive, being allowed in the police and army and given entry into sports stadiums to name a few. This is in addition to the numerous firsts achieved by Saudi women, the most recent of which was when a female Saudi pilot Yasmeen Al-Maimani flew a commercial aircraft in the country.