Saudi women no longer need guardian’s permission to change personal data: Report

Saudi Arabian women can now change their personal data, such as their family name, name of children, and their marital status, without the need for a guardian’s permission, the local Okaz newspaper reported citing the Kingdom’s interior ministry.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior’s Civil Affairs department announced that a woman’s name can be changed without referring to her guardian, according to Okaz’s report that added a female needed to only book an appointment online with the department for further review of the status of an applicant’s request.

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The ministry recently changed its regulations according to a recently approved civil status system, including raising the age for permission to change a person's first name to 18 years of age instead of 15.

In August 2019, Saudi Arabia changed its laws to loosen restrictions on women by allowing any citizen to apply for a passport and travel freely, effectively revamping the guardianship rules on women.

According to the Kingdom’s current laws, Saudi Arabian women above the age of 21 will be allowed to apply for passports and travel freely without the permission of a male guardian. Other changes to the law have also allowed women to register a marriage, divorce, or their child’s birth and to be issued official family documents.

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