The Guardian View on Saudi Arabia’s Reforms: Not Just a Battle for Women

THE GUARDIAN: Relaxation of the guardianship system is long overdue. But more change is needed, and the credit for these reforms should go to the women who have fought for them – not Riyadh

The jubilation of women in Saudi Arabia was real – and understandable. Last Friday, the kingdom announced that it is allowing women to apply for passports, to travel without permission and to have more control over family matters – registering a marriage, divorce or child’s birth, and being issued official family documents. These changes to the guardianship system should be genuinely transformative. But celebration can only be partial when women’s rights remain so tightly constricted and the activists who have fought hard for such changes are paying so high a price.

Women will still need permission from a male relative to marry or divorce, or to leave prison or domestic violence refuges. The system needs not reform but abolition. Other laws still hold women back. And as Ms Saffaa, an Australia-based Saudi artist and activist, warned: “When women become equal to men, Saudi Arabia is still going to remain an authoritarian dictatorship that violates countless human rights.” » | Editorial | Sunday, August 4, 2019

#IAmMyOwnGuardian: Protesting Male Guardianship in Saudi Arabia | DW English

Saudi Arabia recently made headlines for finally allowing women to drive. But women's rights activists Moudhi Aljahoni says the situation for women is still dire. Aljohani had to flee her home country due to her activism and now continues to speak out against the male guardian system that treats women as minors. We caught up with her after she safely reached the US, where she is now seeking asylum.