Saudi Arabia is reportedly axing laws which give men legal control over whether women can leave the country, after a global backlash to the government's Absher app first revealed by INSIDER.

A senior Saudi government source told The Wall Street Journal that women over 18 will no longer need male permission to travel, after a directive "from the top."

In January INSIDER reported how Absher, a Saudi government app, gave digital expression to the travel restriction laws, letting men control women's travel via their smartphones.

Rights groups slammed the app, and Apple and Google for hosting it on their app stores, though both companies continued to host the app.

Saudi Arabia's guardianship laws often require women to get permission for the most basic tasks, like leaving the house or spending money. These provisions will not change, the Journal said.

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Saudi Arabia is reportedly ending laws which require women to get permission from a man before leaving the country.

It follows a global backlash to reporting by INSIDER on the government app Absher, which allowed men to enforce the permissions system via their smartphones.

The apparent change to the law was reported Thursday morning by the Wall Street Journal. It cited a senior government source saying the change had come "from the top" and will be enacted some time this year.

The Absher app. Absher

The plan, according to the Journal, would end one of the most contentious elements of the Saudi guardianship system.

Under the system, every woman needs a named male guardian to give his permission for her to marry, to work, and also to travel. While most of the provisions would remain, the Journal said, the travel part will be removed.

Restrictions on where Saudi women can travel became a global issue after INSIDER reported in January how the Absher app had brought the much-criticized guardianship system into the digital age, and was inhibiting women who try to flee repression in Saudi Arabia.

In response US Senators, 14 members of Congress, and rights groups called on Apple and Google to remove the app from the App Store and Google Play, and accused the tech giants of "enforcing gender apartheid."

Both companies continue to host the app today.

On this Absher page guardians can say where women can go, how long for, and which airports they can go to. Absher

Discussing the change to the law, an anonymous source, described as a Saudi royal family member, told the Journal: "There is no question that the leadership, the government and the people want to see this system changed."

"The current discussion is about how to make this happen as soon as possible without causing a stir."