Women have little to no rights in Saudi Arabia. Women must ask there male authority figure or guardian for persimmon to do any major activity such as traveling, getting a passport, getting a divorce, signing contracts, etc. Competing in sports does not follow the conservative nature that women must follow in Saudi Arabia, as when they sent two female athletes to compete in the Olympics in 2012 they were seen as “prostitutes.” Women have very few rights in Saudi Arabia, because they are allowed to do very little on their own.

There have been recent advancements in women rights in Saudi Arabia this year. An announcement was made to let women drive in the hope that it would increase the economy by enabling women to drive to work. Restrictions have loosened as women are replacing salespeople in lingerie and in cosmetics shops and to work as waitresses in the women’s sections of restaurants. While women still have little to no rights, there have been multiple advancements, and hopefully there will be many more in the future.

In Saudi Arabia, the first school for girls opened in 1955, and in 1970 the first university for women opened. Dar Al Hanan and and The Riyadh College of Education opening was a huge turning point in Saudi Arabia history. In a relative comparison to other countries this is extremely late for a country to finally allow girls to go to school and get an education. This shows how lacking rights for women can be in many countries in the middle east. Women in the United States were able to get education in some places in the 1840s. Women being given these rights early on in America shows how the progressive movements have been running this nation for generations. The underdevelopment is shown through these facts; and how the government in Saudi Arabia runs everything, especially since it is run by all men.

In 2001, women in Saudi Arabia were finally aloud to get ID cards. The cards are the only way for them to prove who they are, and they were only just recently able to own them. For now, these identification cards are only for divorced women and widows. It is crazy to think that such a simple right, such as having an identity, was not being given to these women. This right should be given to everyone, and it especially should not have taken this long for the government to allow women to have this right. Many conservative men in Saudi Arabia were angered at these new changes. It is outrageous to think that men living in Saudi Arabia think that women should not have identification. Everyone has an identity, and the movements to allow Saudi Arabian women become known in the government systems and being able to have ID cards is a huge step forward for these people.