Riyadh: Women can now register for the annual Hajj pilgrimage without a male guardian (mahram), Saudi Arabia has announced.

Taking to twitter, the Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umrah issued registration guidelines for this year's Hajj for domestic pilgrims and said that women did not need to have a male guardian to register, and could do so along with other women.

“Those wishing to perform Haj will have to register individually. Women can register without a mahram (male guardian) along with other women,” the ministry said in a tweet.

Few days earlier, the Kingdom allowed Saudi women to live on their own without requiring the consent of their father or male guardian.

The landmark steps erode the longstanding guardianship system that renders adult women as legal minors and allows their "guardians" — husband, father and other male relatives — to exercise arbitrary authority over them.

In 2019, Saudi Arabia had granted permission to women to travel abroad without approval from a male guardian.