It is official. Saudi women can travel alone without male permission

Saudi Arabia will allow women to travel abroad without approval from a male "guardian", the government said on Thursday.

The landmark reform erodes the longstanding guardianship system that renders adult women as legal minors and allows their "guardians" - husband, father and other male relatives - to exercise arbitrary authority over them.

"A passport will be granted to any Saudi national who submits an application," said a government ruling published in the official gazette Umm Al Qura.

The regulation effectively allows women over the age of 21 to obtain passports and leave the country without their guardian's permission, the pro-government Okaz newspaper and other local media reported, citing senior authorities.

Saudi women have long required permission from their male "guardians" to marry, renew their passports or exit the country.

The reform grants women greater autonomy and mobility, the Saudi Gazette newspaper said, hailing the decision as "one giant leap for Saudi women".

The decision was met with jubilation on social media, with the hashtag "No guardianship over women travel" gaining traction.

"I am elated to confirm that KSA will be enacting amendments to its labor and civil laws that are designed to elevate the status of Saudi women within our society, including granting them the right to apply for passports and travel independently," said Reema Bandar Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the US on Twitter.

"These new regulations are history in the making. They call for the equal engagement of women and men in our society. It is a holistic approach to gender equality that will unquestionably create real change for Saudi women," she added.

"Some women's dreams were aborted due to inability to leave the country for whatever reason... to study abroad, a work opportunity, or even flee if so desired," Saudi businesswoman Muna AbuSulayman said on Twitter.

"This change means women are in a way in full control of their legal destiny."

The changes announced on Thursday also grant Saudi women what has long been a male entitlement - the right to officially register childbirth, marriage or divorce and to be recognised as a guardian to children who are minors.