Sahar Nassif, 63, a literature professor who campaigns for an end to the guardianship system, has been sleepless and numb since seeing Areej, her former student, in the videos that have circulated widely on Arab social media. The authenticity of the videos and pictures of their passports could not be verified. "My whole body trembled and eyes started tearing up when I first saw Areej's face because I instantly remembered her sitting in my university office telling me about the harrowing abuse she suffered from her father," she told Fairfax Media from the Saudi port city of Jeddah. "What is happening is a farce. Every other day there are girls escaping for their lives, or dying or suffering greatly ... Why would a girl escape to a foreign country at great risk without knowing anyone unless her conditions are so dire?" she added. In a similar case last month, Dina Ali Lasloom sought asylum in Australia and was deported while in transit from the Philippines. The case drew international attention and condemnation from human rights groups after Saudi authorities forced her onto a return flight to Riyadh and categorically denied her account of the violence that prompted her escape bid. She is currently in detention.

A Saudi woman votes in municipal elections in December 2015, the first where women voted and ran for election. Despite progress in gaining the franchise, women are still subject to laws that make men their guardians for basic personal decisions. Credit:AP Women in Saudi Arabia are subject to a male guardian who essentially signs off on basic decisions from education to obtaining a passport, receiving medical treatment and getting married. The guardianship system is not legally codified but is enacted through a series of informal and formal bureaucratic arrangements that stipulate that a father, husband, brother or even son has complete authority to approve matters that dictate the daily lives of women. Earlier this month, King Salman issued a directive that would allow women to access government services without the consent of a male relative. Government agencies have a three-month period to report back to the king with a list of procedures that require male guardian consent. Human Rights Watch says the relaxing of guardianship rules could end mandatory requirements limiting the life choices of women, such as not being allowed to drive.

June 2011: a Saudi Arabian woman drives a car in the capital Riyadh in defiance of the kingdom's prohibition. Credit:AP Activists such as Professor Nassif hail it as a positive step in the right direction that shows Saudi authorities are responding to decades of feminist lobbying. However, a 40-year-old Sydney-based visual artist who goes by the name of Ms Saffaa dismisses the government's move as a "political stunt". "The language is vague and open to interpretation. The decree does not specify which government agency has the authority to enforce law," she said. Ms Saffaa has been active in online campaigns, such as "I am my own Guardian", aimed at ending the guardianship system, designing logos and posters using the faces of women who have been victimised for fighting back against rampant gender inequality.

She is planning to paint a massive public mural in Sydney in August this year that honours Saudi women who have challenged the guardianship system, including jailed Saudi woman Maryam al-Otaibi. Saudi Arabia has embarked on a series of social and economic reforms in recent years with the ascent of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his announcement of the country's Vision 2030, aimed at slowly liberalising the kingdom with a booming young population, but its entrenched gender-segregated way of life driven by religious fundamentalism is still the norm. Ms Saffaa, a trained Saudi printmaker, told Fairfax Media that even though she was raised in an understanding family she found it difficult when her younger brother, nearly half her age, was required to act on her behalf when dealing with Saudi authorities while she studied in Sydney, where she has lived since 2008. "I feel dehumanised when I get permission. I don't feel like my own person. I feel like someone has control over me," she said. "I feel that it is ridiculous."

Mariam al-Hubail, 24, a high school teacher from al-Ahsa in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, who travelled outside her homeland for the first time late last month, is frustrated by the king's decree. "It's all a legal mess because it differs from one government agency to the next in how they enforce the rules. The decree confirms that there's no specific law or constitutional article barring women from participating in public life - it's just understood that women can't drive, for example," she explained. "Why would they wait three months to do this study? There are girls imprisoned, their lives are being wasted." US President Donald Trump with Prince Mohammed bin Salman, now installed as Saudi Arabia's crown prince, in March. Credit:Bloomberg Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia this weekend is his first international trip as US President. It is unlikely that women's rights will be raised, giving carte blanche to Saudi Arabia to continue gender discrimination as it inks a weapons deal for over $100 billion with the US administration.

"There is unmitigated violence from the state [Saudi Arabia] against women who are resisting this unfairness," Hubail said.