CAMPAIGNERS say Saudi Arabia’s surprise decision to grant women the right to drive is only the start of a long journey towards equality in the conservative kingdom.
Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world to ban women from driving.
The royal decree comes into effect next summer, but it comes nearly three decades after women began agitating for the right to drive.
As recently as 2013, dozens of women uploaded videos online of themselves behind the wheel of a car during a campaign launched by Saudi rights activists. Some videos showed families and male drivers giving women a “thumbs-ups”, suggesting many were ready for the change.
While women in other Muslim countries drove freely, the kingdom’s blanket ban attracted negative publicity.
Neither Islamic law nor Saudi traffic law explicitly prohibited women from driving, but they were not issued licences and were detained if they attempted to drive.
The decision to change course and grant women licences was praised by the White House, which said President Donald Trump views the change as “a positive step”.
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