Saudi king decrees women will be allowed to drive

RIYADH: Saudi King Salman has ordered that women be allowed to drive cars, ending a conservative tradition seen by rights activists as an emblem of the Islamic kingdom’s repression of women.

The kingdom, the birthplace of Islam, has been widely criticised for being the only country in the world that bans women from driving, despite gradual improvement on some women’s issues in recent years and ambitious government targets to increase their public role, especially in the workforce.

Despite trying to cultivate a more modern image in recent years, the driving ban had been a longstanding stain on Saudi Arabia’s international image.

The royal decree ordered the formation of a ministerial body to give advice within 30 days and then implement the order by June 24, 2018, said the SPA state news agency.

It stipulated that the move must “apply and adhere to the necessary syariah standards”.

It said a majority of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars, Saudi Arabia’s top religious body, had approved its permissibility.

An hour after the announcement in Saudi Arabia, a jubilant Saudi ambassador to Washington, Prince Khaled bin Salman, said it was “a historic and big day in our kingdom”.

“I think our leadership understands that our society is ready. I think it’s the right decision at the right time,” he said.

For over 25 years, women activists have campaigned to be allowed to drive, defiantly taking to the road, petitioning the king and posting videos of themselves behind the wheel on social media. The protests brought them arrest and harassment.

Activist Manal alSherif, who was arrested in 2011 after a driving protest, took to Twitter following the announcement to express her relief.

“Today, the last country on earth to allow women to drive ... we did it,” she wrote.

In Saudi Arabia, women are legally subject to a male guardian, who must approve basic decisions they make in fields including education, employment, marriage, travel plans and even medical treatment.

Women in the kingdom are also bound by law to wear long robes and a headscarf, and require the consent of a male guardian for most legal actions.

Prince Khaled said women would not need their guardian’s permis sion to get a licence or have a guardian in the car and would be allowed to drive anywhere in the kingdom, including Mecca and Medina.

Women with a licence from any of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries would be allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, he added.

He said the Interior Ministry would have to decide whether they could become professional drivers.