RIYADH ¨C An 18-year-old Saudi woman¡¯s flight from what she said was an abusive family has rallied opposition to the kingdom¡¯s male guardianship system, still a major constraint on women despite the conservative Muslim country¡¯s efforts to open up.
Some freedoms have been granted under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who ended a ban on women driving, eased restrictions on gender mixing and championed firsts such as allowing women to serve in the armed forces.
Yet those changes have been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent, including the arrest and alleged torture of some of the activists who campaigned for decades to improve women¡¯s rights ¡ª as well as Muslim preachers who opposed them.
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