In Saudi Arabia, women can now apply for an official change of their names, without their guardian’s consent, said Mohammed al-Jasser, the official spokesperson for the Department of Civil Affairs on Saturday.
Women of 18 years of age or above in the kingdom who have an ID card will be able to change their name without the guardian’s permission.
However, for women under the age of 18, parental consent is required.
Jasser also added that it will not be much of a process for the first part of the name to be changed, whereas the rules are stricter for adding or removing family names such as “Al” or “Bin” and will require permission from the family.
According to the Kingdom’s current laws, Saudi women above the age of 21 will be allowed to apply for passports and travel freely without the permission of a male guardian.
In August 2019 Saudi Arabia had also lifted the travel restriction on Saudi women.