Divorced Saudi women get more legal powers

Saudi Arabia will let divorced women and widows manage family affairs without approval from a man or a court order, a state-aligned newspaper said on Wednesday, in a major step to lift some of the legal powers men hold over their female relatives.

Under the late King Abdullah, the autocratic Islamic kingdom made some reforms to give women more rights, but these remain severely restricted. Efforts to emancipate women are held back by a powerful clergy and an ultra-conservative society.

The Al Riyadh newspaper said the interior ministry will issue family identity cards not only to men, but also to divorcees and widows, granting them powers that will include accessing records, registering children for schools and authorising medical procedures.

The newspaper did not give a date for the move.In a country where men hold legal powers over female relatives in almost all their interactions with the state, the change will significantly alter the lives of divorced or widowed women, particularly for those bringing up children alone.

Until now, women had to get permission from a divorced husband, and apply to courts if that failed, to perform any of these basic activities. Family status cases account for 65 per cent of all those before courts, clogging up an already stretched judicial system.