Saudi Arabian women would now change their personal data without the permission of the guardian
The local Okaz newspaper stated with the citation of the Kingdom’s interior ministry that Saudi Arabian women would currently change their personal data, such as their family name, name of children, and their marital status, without the need for a guardian’s authorization.
According to Okaz’s report, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior’s Civil Affairs department declared that a woman’s name could be changed without referring to her guardian, adding that a female required just reserving an appointment online with the department for further review of the status of an applicant’s demand.
It should indicate that the ministry newly changed its regulations according to a recently approved civil status system, including increasing the age for permission to change a person’s first name to 18 years of age instead of 15.
Otherwise, in August 2019, Saudi Arabia changed its laws to reduce restrictions on women by allowing any citizen to apply for a passport and travel easily, which effectively led to renewing the guardianship rules on women.
Saudi Arabian women after the age of 21 would be allowed to apply for passports and travel freely without the authorization of a male guardian, according to the Kingdom’s now laws. Women also could register a marriage, divorce, or their child’s birth and to be issued official family documents.
