iDivorceU: Saudi women to get separation notice by text

Saudi women will now be served their divorce via text message as part of new regulations in the conservative kingdom whose laws are often criticised for repressing women.

Courts in the Saudi kingdom will be obliged to notify the women of their confirmed divorces from Sunday as part of the new measures.

The law is aimed at halting cases in which women are separated from their partners without their knowledge, lawyer Samia al-Hindi told local newspaper Okaz.

It also ensures they are fully aware of their status and rights as divorced women.

"The new measure ensures women get their [alimony] rights when they're divorced," Saudi lawyer Nisreen al-Ghamdi told Bloomberg. "It also ensures that any powers of attorney issued before the divorce are not misused.”

'Meaningless reforms'

The move is part of ongoing social and economic reform in the kingdom which last year made global headlines after Saudi women were granted the right to drive for the first time in the kingdom’s history. 

In March, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said that women do not have to wear the abaya and hijab so long as they maintain a 'modest' appearance in public despite the dress code continuing to be enforced by the government on the ground.

The state-enforced system of male guardianship also remains in place, dictating that women must obtain permission from a male relative - a husband, father, brother or uncle - for even the most mundane of tasks, including journeying outside of one's home.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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