Saudi Arabia has made significant changes to its law, allowing women living in the country to live freely without the consent of a father or a male guardian.
Saudi legal authorities have deleted paragraph (b) from Article 169 of the law, which states that an adult single, divorced or widowed woman will be handed over to her male guardian. ۔
Instead, the law was amended to say that an adult woman has the right to choose where she wants to live, a woman's guardian can only inform her when she If there is any evidence that the woman is about to commit a crime.
According to Gulf News, it also states that if a woman is sentenced to prison, she will not be handed over to her guardian after the sentence expires.
Lawyer Naif al-Mansi told the Makkah al-Mukarramah newspaper that families could no longer file lawsuits against their daughters who choose to live alone and that courts would no longer accept such cases.
Saudi media first reported in February 2019 that Saudi Arabia was now studying how its male patronage system was being misused.
According to the English daily Saudi Gazette, Saudi public prosecutor Saud al-Mujabib said at the time that his office would make every effort to protect women, children or parents from those who abuse their guardianship rights in an unjust manner.
In August 2019, Saudi Arabia allowed Saudi women to travel abroad without the approval of a male guardian.
The decision comes after women tried to avoid their guardians, despite sweeping reforms.
A government decision published in the official gazette Umm al-Qara said that now any Saudi citizen who submits an application will be given a passport.
