Saudi Arabia has officially allowed single, divorced or widowed women to live independently in a house without permission from a father or any other male guardian, Gulf News reports.
The landmark rule, announced last week, gives Saudi women the freedom to stay on their own in a separate accommodation without seeking approval from their male guardians, the report said.
The Kingdom recently introduced a legal amendment allowing an adult and rational woman to live by herself in a separate house without permission from her father or male guardianship.
Judicial authorities scrapped Paragraph B under article No. 169 of the “Law of Procedure before Sharia Courts” which states that an adult single, divorced, or widowed woman shall be handed over to her male guardian.
It was replaced with a new legal text stipulating, “An adult woman has the right to choose where to live. A woman’s guardian can report her only if he has evidence proving she committed a crime.”
The text also states, “If a woman is sentenced to a jail term, she will not be handed over to her guardian after completing her term.”
Women’s rights have for years been an issue in Saudi Arabia but Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been leading a major drive to modernize Saudi society and boost the economy. He has pledged the country would return to a "moderate and open" approach.
As part of a wide-ranging social and economic reform initiative in the face of fallen oil revenue, the kingdom announced that Saudi women would be allowed to drive.
The kingdom, which had been the world's only country where women are not allowed behind the wheel, later announced another reform, allowing women into stadiums to watch soccer matches for the first time.
In 2019, Saudi Arabia allowed adult women to travel without permission and granted them more control over family matters.