Things Saudi women can/can’t do

RIYADH (Web Desk) – Saudi women are going to vote today (Saturday) for the first time in elections but still face a host of other restrictions, among the tightest in the world.

Here is a list of things women can or cannot under Saudi policies and practices:

Drive

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Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world banning women from getting behind the wheel.

 

Travel

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Women in Saudi Arabia cannot travel without the consent of a male family member known as a guardian.

 

Marry

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Women in the conservative kingdom cannot marry without the consent of a guardian.

 

Work

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Women cannot work without the consent of a guardian in Saudi Arabia.

 

Public Appearance

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Women in the Saudi Arabia cannot appear in public without covering herself in a black abaya robe from head to toe.

 

Divorce

In this Sunday, May 11, 2014 photo, a Saudi couple sit on a bench overlooking the sea, in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia. A growing number of Saudi women are remaining single through their 20s and into their 30s as they pursue their ambitions, sending ultraconservatives into a panic. Traditionally, women in Saudi Arabia are expected to be married by their early twenties. Women are also challenging the rules on how to meet a prospective husband. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)

Divorce is not as easy as a man for women in Saudi Arabia.

 

However, Saudi women can:

Vote in municipal elections, the kingdom’s only polls for public officials.

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Sit on the Shura Council, an appointed body which advises cabinet.

A handout image made available by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on March 11, 2013, shows women attending the Shura Council in the capital Riyadh on March 10, 2013. Thirty Saudi women took seats in Saudi Arabia's Shura Council, for the first time in the ultra-conservative kingdom's history, after being sworn in before King Abdullah on February 19, at his palace in Riyadh.   AFP PHOTO/HO/SPA == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT

Executive Job: Hold the most senior corporate executive posts.

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Work in government administration and an expanding number of private sector areas, including as lawyers

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Be forced to marry at a young age, as there is no legally defined minimum age.

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