Saudi Arabia

The place of women in society varies across different cultures. One that is particularly striking is Saudi Arabia where a system of male guardianship exists. However, there have been some major gains for women in the past few years. For example, they can now live alone without the permission of a male guardian. They can drive cars. They can be eligible to be the guardians of young children in the case of divorce. They must receive a text message informing them that their husband has divorced them (Because of the guardianship and divorce laws, they previously might not have known that their husband had divorced them). In 2015 they were granted the right to vote in the local elections. And the Consultative Assembly must now consist of at least 20% women. This image from my project Cartographica celebrates these huge strides while also recognising there is still more change needed.