Belgium has become the first country to appoint a female ambassador based in Saudi Arabia.

Dominique Mineur is currently based in the United Arab Emirates, according to Belgian broadcaster VRT, but will head for the Saudi capital in the summer.

Newly-appointed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has promised to modernize the kingdom and has abolished the law that prohibits women from driving. But Saudi Arabia still lags behind the rest of the modern world when it comes to equality.

Under the system of guardianship in Saudi, every woman must have a male guardian – a father, brother, husband, or even a son – who has the authority to make a range of decisions on her behalf, she explained.

These decisions include the approval to apply for a passport, travel outside the country, study abroad on a government scholarship, get married, or exit prison.

Women regularly face difficulty conducting a range of transactions – from renting an apartment to filing legal claims – without a male relative’s consent or presence.

Women also face challenges making decisions for their children on an equal basis with men and majority of women lose custody of their children following divorce.

Previously, Georgian diplomat Yekaterina Makering Mikadze had Saudi Arabia under her remit as well as a cluster of other countries.

But she was stationed in Kuwait back in 2010, and when the country opened an embassy specifically to deal with Saudi Arabia five years later it was decided to appoint a male ambassador.

This article has been adapted from its original source.