Saudi Women May No Longer Need The Permission of a Guardian to Travel

King Salman has issued an order relaxing Saudi Arabia's strict guardianship laws. This is the latest in a series of reforms designed to modernise the Kingdom. 

Previously women wishing to travel or  benefit from heath and education services had to obtain the permission of a male 'guardian', however this is set to change. 

Women will now be able to work in the public or private sector, represent themselves in court, study and access hospital treatment without the permission of a male relative.

Recently, women in Saudi Arabia also won the right to vote and girls in Saudi schools are being allowed to participate in sport and Physical Education classes for the first time.

There have also been efforrts to increase female participation in the work force. 

But despite this, Saudi Arabia was still ranked 141 of 144 countries in the 2016 Global Gender Gap, a World Economic Forum study on how women fare in economic and political participation, health and education.