Saudis ease restrictions on women

Dubai: Women in Saudi Arabia can now stay in a hotel or a furnished apartment without a male guardian according to a decision by the Ministry of Trade, reported the local press on Monday.

Meanwhile, government officials said Riyadh is planning to lift the ban on women drivers.

The Arabic daily Al Watan, which is deemed close to the Saudi government, said the Ministry of Trade issued a circular to hotels asking them to accept women in their rooms even if they were alone provided that all their information is immediately be registered at a police station in the area, AP reported.

The decision was adopted after a study conducted by the Interior Ministry, the Supreme Commission of Tourism and the religious police authority known as the Commission for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

Authorities also plan to issue a decree by the end of the year to lift the controversial ban on women driving.

The move is designed to forestall protests for greater freedom by women, which have recently included campaigners driving cars through the kingdom in defiance of a threat of detention and loss of livelihoods.

"There has been a decision to move on this by the Royal Court because it is recognised that if girls have been in schools since the 1960s, they have a capability to function behind the wheel when they grow up," a government official said. "We will make an announcement soon."