Saudi Arabia Allows Women To Start Businesses Without Male Guardian

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Commerce and Investment has announced that the country's women no longer need the permission or support of a male guardian to found a startup. “No need for a guardian’s permission. Saudi women are free to start their own business freely,” ministry spokesperson Abdul Rahman Al-Hussein tweeted with #No_Need on Thursday (Feb 15).

An Arabic company called Tayseer started the #No_Need campaign to streamline the necessary procedures to establish a new business. Also, Saudi people wouldn’t have to physically go to a notary to document their new business. Under the Abshir system, people can now register their businesses online.

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The new amendment has brought positive change for Saudi women who felt challenged while starting a new business in cases where they did not have the support of a man. It is a step towards gender equality in the corporate world for women. Even government agencies have decided not to require a man’s approval when completing the necessary procedures of a woman.

This new approach will open the door to (women) in our homeland to highlight their talents and ideas and translate them into a realistic business with a worthy financial return

“Women can practice all their commercial transactions in the Ministry of Commerce and Investment without a guardian or a notary,” Al-Hussein told Arab News.

Another official, Nojood Al-Qassim, head of the Department of Personal Status, Family Legacies and Women’s and Children’s Rights believes this initiative towards Saudi women’s empowerment is in tune with the government’s overall development drive.

“No need for a guardian’s permission. Saudi women can start their own business freely,” ministry spokesperson Abdul Rahman Al-Hussein tweeted on Thursday using an Arabic hashtag that translates as #No_Need.

— *Dr Barkat SOOMRO* (@DrBarkatSoomro) February 19, 2018

“One of the directives of Vision 2030 is to activate the role of Saudi women in society and to give them their full rights and the rights guaranteed by Shariah,” she told Arab News.

Law consultant Dima Al-Shareef said, “This new approach will open the door to (women) in our homeland to highlight their talents and ideas and translate them into a realistic business with a worthy financial return.”

She added, “We are witnessing a new era in the empowerment of Saudi women, in the commercial sphere in particular.”

Picture credit- Rediff