Saudi Arabian Womens' Rights

 Since the birth of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, women have had strict rules applied to them. Every woman in the state is controlled by a male figure; a father, husband, or son. Many rules are said to be justified by religion, however, in reality, many of these rules have no relation to religion and are fully cultural. One of the main rights that women did not have until recently is the right to drive. If women want to go to different places, they need a husband, father, or son to drive them. Another rule is the type of clothing women wear. Until 2017, women were only allowed to wear black clothing outside of their homes. To this day, they are also forced to wear a headscarf or a hijab. Also, women are not allowed to apply for a passport as they cannot travel out of the country without a male with them. This causes many women to hack into a male guardians’ phone to change their permission settings. Women are also not allowed to marry whoever they want. If a woman wants to get married, she is forced to get approval from her father. It is very common that the woman won’t have any say in who they can marry. This is another large issue in the country that causes many women to be unhappy. Even worse, a wife wanting to divorce her husband is heavily frowned upon. To get a divorce the woman must take it to court; This often ends in rejection.