Ivanka Trump said that Saudi Arabia has made "very encouraging" progress in empowering women, even though women cannot drive and must escorted everywhere by a male relative.

"Saudi Arabia's progress, especially in recent years, is very encouraging," The US president's eldest daughter told a group of Saudi women she met in the country's capital Riyadh, while accompanying her father on a visit to the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom.

But Ms Trump admitted there was "still a lot of work to be done and freedoms and opportunities to continue to fight for."

She went onto suggested that it was culture, not religion, holding them back.

"Women driving is not a religious issue as much as it is an issue that relates to the community itself that either accepts it or refuses it”, she said, even though Saudi Arabia's Deputy crown prince and Minister of Defence Mohammed bin Salman Al once said the Saudi community was “not convinced about women driving”.

The country’s restrictions on women form a wider web of control: under the guardianship system, every woman must have a male guardian, who also acts as escort.

These men – often fathers or husbands, but who can also be sons – make key decisions on their behalf, which includes granting permission to apply for a passport, to travel outside the country, to study abroad and to get married.

Strict rules on attire means Saudi women have to cover their bodies with an abaya, and their hair must be covered when in public.

King Salman issued an order in April to all government agencies that women should not be denied access to government services because they do not have a man’s consent.

If enforced, Human Rights Watch said it could “end arbitrary guardian consent requirements imposed on women by government officials”.

Despite the seemingly forward-thinking nature of the decision, the guardianship system itself, remains unchallenged.

10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemen’s Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdom’s Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as “inciting people against the authorities”. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabia’s clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his ‘confession’. At Dawood’s trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty

Last year a fleeing Saudi woman who attempted to seek asylum in Australia was taken back to her family against her will while in transit in the Philippines.

As of the end of April, the 24-year-old,who had said she feared for her life, has not been seen in public.