Saudi Arabia to let women travel without permission

By Dilara Hamit

ANKARA (AA) – Saudi Arabia will allow women over the age of 21 to apply for a passport and travel abroad without a male guardian’s permission, the kingdom’s official gazette announced Thursday.

The gazette did not mention its source of information but tweeted that amendments to travel rules, the labor law and civil status law would be included in its next release.

The new law ends restrictions linked to the kingdom's deeply held tradition of giving women a male guardian in a step towards ending discrimination against women.

The guardianship system requires women to seek permission from a male family member to apply for a passport or leave the country.

In recent years, Saudi women have sought asylum in other countries to escape their government and families.

Last year, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz issued a decree allowing women -- for the first time in the kingdom’s history -- to drive and obtain driver's licenses.