RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's international airports are the scene of the latest "first" for women citizens, who can now leave the country without permission from a male relative as the kingdom chips away at its heavily criticised guardianship system.

Salma, a 40-year-old mother of three, travels abroad regularly with authorisation from her legal guardian - formerly her then-husband and now her father. But those rules were cancelled this month, so when she went to Riyadh airport on Thursday, she crossed passport control on her own authority.