Women in Saudi Arabia can now drive a vehicle, a huge milestone for half of the Kingdom’s population who have been restricted to drive because of societal issues.
The Saudi Foreign ministry announced on September 27 that a royal decree has been issued by King Salman that would allow women in the country to drive.
The decree also stated that women will not need to get permission from legal guardians in order to obtain a driver’s license.
“This is a historic big day in our kingdom,” CNN quoted Prince Khaled bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US.
The decree is expected to have huge implications for the economy of Saudi Arabia and women’s ability to work.
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has vowed to achieve his plan of reforming and transforming Saudi Arabia’s economy by 2030 with increasing the number of women in the workforce as one of the ways to reach the goal.
Manal al-Sharif, one of the women behind the Women2Drive campaign, posted a photo of herself inside a car on her Twitter account as a way of celebrating the decree.
Sharif, who is now based in Australia, was sent to jail in Saudi Arabia in 2011 for posting a video on Youtube of herself driving a car.
Source: CNN
Photo credit: Pixabay
