Saudi women grapple with new-found freedom to travel on their own

For decades, women have needed permission from a male relative to marry, obtain a passport, exit prison or leave the conservative Islamic kingdom

But extensive amendments to the country’s travel, labour and civil status law have gone a long way to dismantling its so-called guardianship system

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Saudi women walk with their luggage at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:21pm, 22 Aug 2019Updated: 10:36pm, 22 Aug 2019

When Hayfa’s first passport as an adult woman was placed in her hands on Wednesday, she first carefully felt the cover and then made sure it was actually her name printed beneath the words “Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”.

Then joy took over. The masters programmes she had dreamed of studying and the job offers she had declined because her family would not let her travel were finally within reach.

“It feels empowering yet terrifying,” the 28-year-old said, asking for her last name to be withheld. “No one from the family knows yet,” she explained. “I don’t know how to ease them into it.”

Hayfa was one of the first Saudi women to be issued a passport without the consent of a male relative after the conservative Islamic kingdom eased its so-called guardianship system. For decades, women have needed permission from a father, husband, brother or even a son to marry, obtain a passport, leave the country or exit prison. While elements of the system remain, extensive amendments to travel, labour and civil status laws earlier this month were a major step toward dismantling it.

It was the latest set of changes unveiled in Saudi Arabia, where rapid reform has generated both excitement and uncertainty. In four years since his father became king, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has rolled out an economic overhaul and dismantled social restrictions, ending a ban on women driving and rendering the infamous religious police toothless.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Photo: Reuters

But he has also cracked down on the limited political freedoms Saudis had, arresting religious clerics and many of the women’s rights activists who fought to end guardianship.

Saudi families are now grappling with how to adjust to a reality some of them never dreamed of.