BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

Does Saudi robot citizen have more rights than women?

  • Published
    26 October 2017
Share page
About sharing
SophiaImage source, Arab News/You Tube
ByRozina Sini
BBC UGC and Social News

Meet Sophia, a robot who made her first public appearance in the Saudi Arabian city of Riyadh on Monday.

Sophia was such a hit she was immediately given Saudi citizenship in front of hundreds of delegates, external at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh on 25 October.

But as pictures and videos of Sophia began circulating on social media many started to ask why a robot already seemed to have secured more rights than women in the country.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post by CIC Saudi Arabia

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post by CIC Saudi Arabia

Sophia, created by Hong Kong company Hanson Robotics, external, addressed the audience in English without the customary headscarf and abaya, a traditional cloak which Saudi women are obliged to wear in public.

"I am very honoured and proud for this unique distinction," she said. "This is historical to be the first robot in the world to be recognized with a citizenship."

You may also like:

  • Female driving ban: Why did this selfie enrage some Saudis?

  • The Saudi Arabian call to boycott Pizza Hut over advert

  • Women have 'quarter of brain' says Saudi cleric

Saudi users hailed the development using the Arabic hashtag #Robot_with_Saudi_nationality nearly 30,000 times in the first 24 hours since the announcement.

But others took a more sarcastic tone. The Arabic hashtag #Sophia_calls_for_dropping_guardianship was also circulating, and has been used nearly 10,000 times to date.

Under the Saudi guardianship system every woman must have a male companion with her in public, usually a close family member, who has authority to act on her behalf.

Women and men in Saudi Arabia (file)
Image caption,

In Saudi Arabia woman are required to be accompanied in public by a male guardian and cover their heads

"Sophia has no guardian, doesn't wear an abaya or cover up - how come?" commented one Twitter user., external

While another posted an image of the robot's face, external with a black headscarf and face veil drawn on, with the caption: "How Sophia will look after a while"

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 2 by M420

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 2 by M420

But in addition to the posts comparing Sophia to Saudi women there was also discussion about the ease and speed in which she had been granted citizenship.

Journalist Murtaza Hussain posted, external: "This robot has gotten Saudi citizenship before kafala workers who have been living in the country their entire lives"

Under Saudi law, foreign workers can't leave the country without the permission of their employers - just one element of the Gulf system of kafala, which limits the rights of foreign workers.

  • Buying and selling maids online

  • Qatar abolishes controversial 'kafala' labour system

The Gulf Kingdom relies on hundreds of thousands of domestic workers from abroad. However there is a thriving black market in runaway migrant workers who have fled their employers, but find themselves unable to leave the country due to the country's exit visa law.

"A humanoid robot called Sophia got Saudi citizenship, while millions linger stateless," responded Lebanese-UK journalist Kareem Chahayeb, external. "What a time to be alive."

Saudi Arabia has been seeking to highlight a series of reforms being rolled out by the authorities in the Kingdom.

Women were allowed to participate in Saudi Arabia's National Day and a longstanding ban on women driving was lifted in late September. The Kingdom is also seeking to diversify its economy beyond a reliance on oil, as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030.

Additional reporting by Amira Fathalla, BBC Monitoring

More on this story

  • End of Saudi women driving ban reflects deep changes in society

    • Published
      27 September 2017
    Saudi women speak on phones in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (27 September 2017)
  • Saudis 'want return to moderate Islam’

    • Published
      25 October 2017
    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh on 24 October 2017
  • Saudi king's golden escalator gets stuck. Video, 00:00:30Saudi king's golden escalator gets stuck

    • Published
      5 October 2017
    0:30
    King Salman disembarks plane via gold escalator
  • Saudi Pizza Hut pulls 'irresponsible' ad

    • Published
      24 October 2017
    Slice of pizza
  • Saudi 'nightwear' ban in sport stadiums

    • Published
      12 October 2017
    Diagram displaying appropriate and inappropriate dress in Saudi sports stadiums
  • Saudi airport's maid transport service

    • Published
      7 August 2017
    Riyadh Airports advert on Twitter for its domestic staff transport service
  • Saudi Arabia investigates miniskirt video

    • Published
      17 July 2017
    Screengrab from video posted by "Khulood" showing a woman walking through a historic village in Saudi Arabia

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Trump says Israel and Hamas have agreed to first phase of Gaza peace deal, paving way for ceasefire

    • 15684 viewing16k viewing
  • 'Momentous opportunity': World reacts to first stage of Gaza peace deal

    • Published
      1 hour ago
  • What we know about the 'first phase' of the Gaza peace deal

    • Published
      4 hours ago

More to explore

  • Stars, secrets and slip-ups: Celebrity Traitors is off to a cracking start

    Alan Carr on the Celebrity Traitors, sitting in an armchair and smiling
  • Young children taking knives to school, BBC finds

    Graphic: Knives in foreground, in background children sitting at school desks.
  • 'It was like a movie' - How immigration raid on Chicago apartments unfolded

    Image of law enforcement officer pointing a gun, with sparks in the background
  • Inside the room where Nobel Peace Prize is decided – but will Trump get his wish?

    Members of the Nobel Peace Prize committee and secretary sit around a table in the room where they make their decision
  • 'I missed a £100 council tax bill while in hospital – the debt ballooned to £6k'

    A young man, with long dark brown hair and a brown beard and moustache , sits next to a hospital bed. He has a bandage on his neck.
  • 'I'll axe stamp duty' and 'My Maddie hoax agony'

    Newspaper headlines: Tories vow to scrap stamp duty and Madeline McCann's parents give testimony in alleged stalking case
  • My eating disorder made me good at lying, says Victoria Beckham

    Victoria Beckham attends the "Victoria Beckham" World Premiere at the Curzon Mayfair on October 08, 2025 in London, England
  • The battle for Scotland's flag: Why the right has adopted the saltire

    A man raises his fist while standing in front of a group of people waving flags, including saltires and a union flag.
  • How Britain's membership of the ECHR became a political hot potato

    Montage image showing Nigel Farage, Kemi Badenoch and Sir Keir Starmer
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    America's top banker sounds warning on US stock market fall

  2. 2

    Kate warns too much screen time damages family life

  3. 3

    Water bills to rise further for millions after appeal

  4. 4

    Have Russians set up a military base in my childhood home?

  5. 5

    'I missed a £100 council tax bill while in hospital – the debt ballooned to £6k'

  6. 6

    Stars, secrets and slip-ups: Celebrity Traitors is off to a cracking start

  7. 7

    My eating disorder made me good at lying, says Victoria Beckham

  8. 8

    Pubs could stay open longer under licensing reforms

  9. 9

    Young children taking knives to school, BBC finds

  10. 10

    'I'll axe stamp duty' and 'My Maddie hoax agony'

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

The Celebrity Traitors

  • An all-star cast enters the ultimate game of deceit

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    The Celebrity Traitors has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    The Celebrity Traitors
  • All the betrayal and drama unpacked

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked
  • Meet the Celebrity Traitors as the mind games begin

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    The Celebrity Traitors has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    The Celebrity Traitors
  • A treacherously good version of a pop classic

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    BBC Proms has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    BBC Proms 2025: Britney Spears
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.