BBC: Women in Saudi Arabia should be allowed more basic freedoms, according to a UN anti-discrimination committee.
It says the practice of needing a man's permission to marry, work, travel or be educated should end.
In a report, the committee also says there should be more laws offering protection to women.
But the Saudi government, in submissions before the report was published, said there was no discrimination against women.
Victims of crime
Overall the UN is very critical of Saudi Arabia's approach to women's rights. It even expresses concern about the Saudi state's understanding of the idea of equality - saying similar rights for men and women is not the same as equal rights.
The UN highlights the situation of women who have been victims of crime. In a recent case, a woman who was gang raped was initially sentenced to jail and lashes.
The court found she was wrong to have been with a man who was not her relative at the time of the attack.
The UN report says social attitudes and the system of male guardianship deter women from reporting crimes and lead to a patriarchal system. UN call for Saudi women's rights >>> By Frances Harrison, Religious affairs reporter
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