New breakthrough for Saudi women’s rights

New landmark reform for Saudi women

Riyadh: A requirement for Saudi female students to be accompanied by a male guardian in order to benefit from state scholarships abroad is likely to be scrapped soon.

The decision follows last week’s breakthrough reform that allowed Saudi women to obtain passports and travel abroad with the approval of a male guardian, usually a husband, father or brother.

Under current rules, a Saudi woman who enrolls in a national free scholarship program to study for a master’s or PhD degree abroad must be accompanied by a guardian.

However, Saudi Cultural Attaché in the US Dr. Mohammed Al Isa said he was expecting to receive a not stating the cancellation of the requirement.

“The new decision will be very helpful and will give better chances to all women,” he said.

“We used to make exceptions in some cases when it was really difficult to meet the guardian requirement. In some cases, some women had to get married in order to have a guardian, the husband, who would stay with them throughout their studies.”

Saudi Arabia has around 93,000 students on state scholarships across the world. Around 55 percent are in the US, followed by 15.7 per cent in the United Kingdom.

Around 20,000 students are major in business and management, 19,000 in engineering and engineering industries, and 18,300 in medicine and medical services.

The relaxation of rules restricting women’s rights has been steadily progress under an ambitious drive by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to overhaul society and bring it more into the 21st century.

The drive has included the political., economic and social empowerment of women that has boosted their employment chances and allowed them to drive and attend sporting events.

“I am elated to confirm that KSA [Kingdom of Saudi Arabia] will be enacting amendments to its labor and civil laws that are designed to elevate the status of Saudi women within our society, including granting them the right to apply for passports and travel independently,” Saudi Ambassador to the U.S., Reema Bandar Al Saud, posted on her Twitter account last week.

“These developments have been a long time coming. From the inclusion of women in the consultative council to issuing driving licenses to women, our leadership has proved its unequivocal commitment to gender equality.”

According to Reema, these new regulations “are history in the making.”

“They call for the equal engagement of women and men in our society. It is a holistic approach to gender equality that will unquestionably create real change for Saudi women,” she posted.

“Women have always played an integral role in our country’s development, and they will continue to do so moving forward on equal footing with their male counterparts.”