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Saudi Women Now May Travel Without Male Consent

Associated Press

   DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Saudi Arabia has issued new laws that
   grant women greater freedoms by allowing any citizen to apply for a
   passport and travel freely, ending a long-standing and controversial
   guardianship policy that had required male consent for a woman to
   travel or carry a passport.

   The changes approved by King Salman and his Cabinet allow any person 21
   and older to travel abroad without prior consent and any citizen to
   apply for a Saudi passport on their own.

   The decrees were published early Friday in the kingdom's official
   weekly gazette.

   Other changes issued in the decrees allow women to register a marriage,
   divorce or child's birth and to be issued official family documents.

   The changes were widely celebrated by Saudis on Twitter, but also drew
   criticism from some conservatives.

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