As educators working in Saudi, we spend hours a day in the company of the country’s bright, young women and are encouraged to reveal a world of possibilities to them. Yet many of us are discouraged  - if not outrightly forbidden - from conversing with them on the challenges - one of which is the male guardianship system.

The question is - what defines this system that infantilizes grown women? Who is responsible for its existence? And who are the genuine vehicles of change in the country? Human Rights Watch’s middle eastern expert Adam Coogle reveals this complex system of discrimination is not easily defined, operates in omissions and remains a serious stain on the reputation of a country that wishes the world to believe in its progression.