사우디아라비아 보호자법 완화정책과 폐지논쟁에 관한 연구

Relaxation Policy of Saudi Arabia’s Guardianship Law and Debates on Abolition

Saudi Arabia’s guardianship law has drawn global attention as the number of women who flee from their country to seek asylum are increasing. While Saudi women support abolition of the guardianship law, asserting that the law oppresses women’s rights, the government introduced various new policies to ease the law since 2017 within the frame of the Saudi Vision 2030’s reform policy. However, despite the new policies, a guardian’s permission is still customarily needed in Saudi Arabia. Unlike Saudi women and the government’s position toward law, the religious elites and tribal people oppose abolition of the law, claiming that it contradicts the tradition and customs of Saudi Arabia. Considering the disputes and debates around the guardianship law within Saudi Arabia, the purpose of this study is to examine and analyze the four parties’(women, government, religious elites, and tribal people) controversial positions towards the law based on a literature review as well as to suggest the future direction that Saudi society would take under the Saudi Vision 2030.