Women in Saudi Arabia are now allowed to apply for a passport and travel abroad without a man’s consent.

The new laws, published Friday, mark a breakthrough for women’s rights in the kingdom, where women were treated as minors throughout their adult lives and kept under the guardianship of a father, husband or sometimes even her own son.

The updated decrees, which were approved Thursday by the Saudi cabinet, also allow women to register a marriage, divorce or child’s birth and to be issued official family documents.

The changes also stipulate that a father or mother can be a legal guardian of children.

Women over the age of 21 can now travel alone.

It’s not clear if the new rules go into effect immediately.

They were published Friday in the kingdom’s official weekly Um al-Qura gazette, with Saudi newspaper Arab News noting that the updated decrees are written in gender-neutral language removing prior restrictions specific to women — rather than stating outright that women no longer need male consent.

Women still face other restrictions in the conservative kingdom. They still can’t pass on citizenship to their children and can’t provide consent for their children to marry. Male consent is also still required for a woman to leave prison, exit a domestic abuse shelter or marry.

Last year, Saudi Arabia lifted its longstanding ban on women driving with the support of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

With Post wires