Work and Money

Companies and government offices customarily ask a woman to bring her guardian to consent to paid employment outside the home, although the law does not formally require this. Also by custom, banks require a guardian’s approval for a woman to open a savings account, let alone get a loan or credit card. Women only last year got the right to open a business in their own name and the right to sign a rental contract for housing in their own name, although many landlords refuse to consider a single woman as a tenant.

Marriage

Permission to marry must be granted by a guardian. Without guardian consent, a Saudi court will not recognize a marriage. Women who would like to marry non-Saudis must seek the approval of the Ministry of Interior, another process that requires a guardian’s consent. Permission to marry a non-Muslim is close to impossible in Saudi Arabia. Within the guardianship system, once a woman is married, her husband becomes her guardian. If her husband dies, guardianship transfers to her son — or back to her father, or an uncle if her father is dead.

Courts

Women in Saudi Arabia are not guaranteed a fair trail. Their witness statements carry half the weight of a man’s. Women are allowed half the inheritance of male family members. A recent royal decree reversed decades of precedent whereby divorced women would automatically lose custody of children to their husbands.

A woman who does not heed her guardian can be arrested on charges of “disobedience.” If a woman is detained for any reason, the police will not release her unless her guardian comes to pick her up — even if she faces no criminal charges. Women practice law in Saudi Arabia, but there are no women judges.

Travel

Passports and state identification documents must be procured with the consent of a woman’s guardian. But Saudi women do not need their guardian’s approval to get a driver’s license.