Anaya Nolan
Saudi Arabia's male guardianship system has been the subject of intense international scrutiny and criticism from human rights organisations. The system, which treats women as 'legal minors', has been criticised for controlling women's decision-making power and infringing on their bodily autonomy. While there have been some reforms since 2019, loosening certain restrictions, the system remains largely intact, and a royal decree published in 2019 that granted women over 21 the right to obtain passports and travel without male guardian permission was seen as a symbolic victory for the Saudi feminist movement. However, the country's first codified Personal Status Law (PSL), issued in 2022, has been criticised for entrenching gender-based discrimination and facilitating domestic violence and sexual abuse in marriage.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of creation | 8 March 2022 |
| Name of law | Personal Status Law (PSL) |
| Previous situation | Matters related to family life were subject to the discretionary application of the rules of Sharia (Islamic law) and interpretations of Islamic texts by a male-dominated judiciary |
| Current situation | The law codifies many of the informal yet widespread problematic practices inherent in the male guardianship system and entrenches a system of gender-based discrimination in most aspects of family life, including marriage, divorce, and child custody |
| Impact | The law includes provisions that facilitate domestic violence and sexual abuse in marriage. The law also uses vague language that gives judges wide discretion when adjudicating cases, increasing the likelihood of inconsistent interpretations |
| International Women's Day 2022 | Saudi Arabia passed its first Personal Status Law (PSL) |
| Previous laws | Saudi Arabia had no minimum age of marriage until January 2019 |
| Current laws | The Personal Status Law allows even younger children to marry. Article 9 sets the legal age of marriage as 18. However, it allows courts to authorize the marriage of a child under 18 if they have “reached puberty” – which could be younger than 15 – and if the marriage provides an “establ |
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What You'll Learn
- The guardianship system is built on the premise that women are 'legally minors'
- Women require a male guardian's permission to travel, work, marry, and more
- The anti male-guardianship campaign has faced crackdowns and arrests
- Saudi Arabia's Personal Status Law PSL codifies male guardianship
- The law has been criticised for entrenching gender-based discrimination
The guardianship system is built on the premise that women are 'legally minors'
The guardianship system in Saudi Arabia is not a codified set of laws, but a system built on the premise that women are 'legal minors'. Until 2019, women in Saudi Arabia were treated as legal minors, requiring a male relative's permission for critical decisions, such as working, obtaining family records, and applying for a passport. Women who travelled abroad were required to be accompanied by a male relative, even if they were attending school.
Under Saudi Arabia's male guardianship system, every woman must have a male guardian who has the authority to make critical decisions on her behalf. Traditionally, a woman's guardian from birth is her father, and once she is married, her husband becomes her guardian. In cases where a woman's father or husband has died, a brother or even her son may become her guardian. All women in Saudi Arabia are subject to this practice.
The guardianship system is part of the state's adherence to a rigid interpretation of the Quran. It has repeatedly denied women economic and scholastic opportunities. For example, if a woman wanted to study abroad but did not have a male relative to accompany her, she would be forced to give up that opportunity.
In 2016, Human Rights Watch described the situation as follows: "a Saudi woman's life is controlled by a man from birth until death". In 2018, any adult woman in Saudi Arabia required approval from her male guardian for activities such as accessing healthcare, getting a job, travelling, or getting married.
In 2019, there was a crackdown on women's rights activists in Saudi Arabia, with waves of arrests in May 2018 and April 2019. Six of the women were tortured, some in the presence of the Crown Prince's advisor, Saud al-Qahtani. However, reforms in 2018 and 2019 saw women's rights greatly expanded. In August 2019, a royal decree was published, allowing women over 21 to obtain passports and travel abroad without male guardian permission. The decree also gave women the right to register a marriage, divorce, or birth, and obtain official family documents.
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Women require a male guardian's permission to travel, work, marry, and more
The Saudi male guardianship system is not a single law but an entire system built on the premise that women are 'legal minors'. Under this system, every woman must have a male guardian who has the authority to make a range of critical decisions on her behalf. Traditionally, a woman's male guardian from birth is her father, and once she is married, her husband becomes her guardian. In cases where a woman's father or husband has died, a brother or even her son may act as her male guardian. All women in Saudi Arabia are subject to this practice.
The guardianship system has been described as deeply rooted in Saudi life, with women's lives "controlled by a man from birth until death". Women require a male guardian's permission to travel, work, marry, and more. Until August 2019, women in Saudi Arabia required a male relative's permission to apply for a passport and travel abroad. They were also required to be accompanied by a male relative when travelling. In 2019, laws were passed allowing women over 21 to obtain passports and travel without male guardian permission. However, human rights groups have highlighted that female activists have been subject to official and unofficial travel bans lasting several years.
Women also require male guardian permission to work. In 2011, during the Saudi Arabian protests, women started a campaign against the Saudi Ministry of Labor's requirement for guardian approval for employment. In 2017, King Salman ordered government agencies to allow women to access government services without a male guardian's consent unless required by existing regulations.
In 2019, the country's Shura Council approved regulations prohibiting marriage for girls and boys under 15 and requiring those under 18 to receive approval from a specialised court. Prior to these regulations, there were no statutes governing the legal age of marriage, and women required a male relative's permission to marry, making them vulnerable to forced and child marriage. Women also need a male guardian's permission to leave prison or a domestic violence shelter.
Saudi Arabia has made efforts to reform marriage-related laws, but the influence of guardianship and traditional customs remains significant. In 2022, the PSL was introduced, codifying many traditional Islamic rules on marriage and divorce into law. This requires women to have permission from a male guardian to marry or divorce.
Activists have worked to reform specific elements of the male guardianship system, with waves of arrests in 2018 and 2019. Several women activists were tortured, some in the presence of the Crown Prince's advisor. In 2019, 36 countries, including all signatories to the European Union, called upon Saudi Arabia to release women human rights defenders detained for exercising their fundamental rights.
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The anti male-guardianship campaign has faced crackdowns and arrests
The anti male-guardianship campaign in Saudi Arabia has faced strong resistance from the authorities, with activists facing crackdowns and arrests. The campaign, led by women, aims to end the requirement to obtain permission from a male guardian for various activities such as getting a job, travelling, or getting married.
In 2003, Wajeha al-Huwaider, a prominent women's rights activist, was banned by Saudi authorities from publishing her opinions in Saudi media. She was arrested again in 2006 after holding a women's rights street protest. In 2009, she deliberately tried to travel internationally without male guardianship permission and encouraged other women to do the same. In 2011, women activists wrote a letter to the Saudi Minister of Labor and brought media attention to the issue.
In 2016, a 14,000-signature petition was presented to the royal authorities by activist Aziza al-Yousef following a Human Rights Watch report on male guardianship. However, in May 2018, a crackdown against the activists took place, resulting in 13 arrests. Several of the women remained in prison as of December 2018 and were subjected to torture, some under the supervision of Saud al-Qahtani, an advisor to the Crown Prince.
The United Nations special rapporteur described the arrests as a "crackdown" taking place "on a wide scale across" Saudi Arabia and called for the "urgent release" of the detainees. In January 2019, Rahaf Mohammed sought asylum at Bangkok airport, citing physical and psychological abuse by her family. Her situation gained international media attention and support, preventing her deportation.
In August 2019, a royal decree was published in the Saudi official gazette, allowing women over 21 to obtain passports and travel abroad without male guardian permission. The decree also granted women the right to register marriages, divorces, births, and obtain official family documents, as well as the right to be legal guardians of their children. Despite this progress, the anti-male guardianship campaigners continued to face imprisonment and travel bans.
The campaign against male guardianship in Saudi Arabia has faced significant challenges, with activists risking their freedom and safety to fight for women's rights and equality. While there have been some recent gains, the campaign remains ongoing, with women still facing restrictions and discrimination in various aspects of their lives.
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Saudi Arabia's Personal Status Law PSL codifies male guardianship
Saudi Arabia's male guardianship system is an entire system built on the premise that women are "legally minors". Under this system, every woman must have a male guardian who has the authority to make a range of critical decisions on her behalf. Traditionally, a woman's male guardian from birth is her father, and once she is married, her husband becomes her guardian. In other cases, such as when a woman's father or husband has died, a brother or even her son may serve as her male guardian.
In August 2019, a royal decree was published in the Saudi official gazette Um al-Qura, which allowed women over 21 to obtain passports and travel abroad without male guardian permission. The decree also gave women the right to register a marriage, divorce, or birth, or obtain official family documents, and gave mothers the right to be legal guardians of their children. However, despite these reforms, the male guardianship system remained in place.
On International Women's Day, 8 March 2022, Saudi Arabia passed its first Personal Status Law PSL, which was touted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as a major reform that accorded with the latest legal trends and modern international judicial practices. However, the law has been criticised by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for perpetuating the male guardianship system and codifying discrimination against women in most aspects of family life, including marriage, divorce, and child custody. The law also discriminates against women with regard to inheritance, economic discrimination, and decisions about their children.
The PSL was part of a package of legislative reforms announced by Mohammad bin Salman in February 2021, which aimed to "preserve rights, bolster the principles of justice, enforce transparency, protect human rights, and achieve comprehensive and sustainable development". While the law does introduce some positive reforms, such as setting a minimum age for marriage, it also codifies some of the practices inherent in the male guardianship system, fails to adequately protect women from domestic violence, and entrenches a system of gender-based discrimination.
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The law has been criticised for entrenching gender-based discrimination
The guardianship system in Saudi Arabia has been criticised for entrenching gender-based discrimination. The system is built on the premise that women are 'legally minors', requiring a male guardian's permission for a range of critical decisions, such as working, obtaining family records, applying for a passport, travelling, and getting married. Women have also been unable to serve as legal guardians of their own children. This has resulted in women being denied economic and scholastic opportunities, such as studying abroad or legally holding a job.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 calls for an end to discrimination against women and girls and the empowerment of women and girls at all levels. Despite this, women's rights activists in Saudi Arabia continue to be detained and imprisoned for demanding an end to the discriminatory male guardianship system. These women have been subject to abuse and torture during their imprisonment and deprived of contact with their families.
In 2019, there was a crackdown on women's rights activists in Saudi Arabia, with waves of arrests in May 2018 and April 2019. Six of the women were tortured, some in the presence of the Crown Prince's advisor, Saud al-Qahtani. This led to 36 countries, including all signatories to the European Union, calling upon Saudi Arabia to immediately release the women's rights defenders.
While there have been some reforms to the guardianship system in recent years, such as allowing women to drive and granting mothers the right to be legal guardians of their children, there are still restrictions in place that discriminate against women. For example, women still need permission from a male guardian to marry, leave prison or a domestic violence shelter, and to work, study, or seek medical care.
The Personal Status Law (PSL) passed in 2022 has been criticised for codifying gender-based discrimination and failing to comply with international treaties such as the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which Saudi Arabia ratified in 2000. The PSL discriminates against women in matters of marriage by restricting a woman's right to freely choose her spouse based on religion. It also enforces stereotypical gender roles and cancels a woman's right to financial maintenance by her husband if she "refuses herself to her husband without a legitimate reason", without defining what constitutes a "legitimate reason".
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Frequently asked questions
The male guardianship system in Saudi Arabia is built on the premise that women are "legally minors". Under this system, every woman must have a male guardian who has the authority to make critical decisions on her behalf.
A male guardian can make a range of decisions on a woman's behalf, including whether she can work, obtain family records, apply for a passport, travel, get married, or leave prison.
The guardianship law in Saudi Arabia was not created at a single point in time. Instead, it is the result of a series of legal interpretations, policies, and practices that have been implemented over the years.
Yes, in August 2019, a royal decree was published in the Saudi official gazette, allowing women over 21 to obtain passports and travel abroad without male guardian permission. This decree also gave women the right to register a marriage, divorce, or birth, and obtain official family documents.
The international community, including human rights organisations and advocacy groups, has largely criticised the guardianship law in Saudi Arabia. They have called for an end to the discriminatory system and the immediate release of women's rights activists who have been detained for their advocacy.
