Saudi Arabia lifts ban on women driving
RIYADH: Women in Saudi Arabia took to the roads early yesterday, ushering in the end of the world’s last ban on female drivers.
“It’s a beautiful day,” said businesswoman Samah al-Qusaibi as she cruised the eastern city of Khobar just after midnight with police looking on.
“Today we are here,” she said from the driver’s seat. “Yesterday we sat there,” she added, pointing to the back.
The ban’s end, ordered last September by King Salman, is part of sweeping reforms pushed by his powerful young son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in a bid to transform the economy of the top oil exporter and open up its cloistered society.
“It is our right and finally we took it. It is only a matter of time for the society to accept it, generally,” said Samira alGhamdi, a 47-year-old psychologist from Jeddah, as she drove herself to work.
She was one of a small group of women who had managed to secure a licence beforehand.
The number of new drivers remains low, as women with foreign permits only began converting them earlier this month.
Others are training at new state-run schools, with three million women expected to drive by 2020.
Some still face resistance from conservative relatives, and many accustomed to private drivers say they are reluctant to take on the busy highways.
“I definitely won’t like to drive,” saleswoman Fayza al-Shammary, 22, said.
“I like to be a princess with someone opening the car door for me and driving me anywhere.”
The interior ministry plans to hire women traffic police for the first time.
The public security directorate reported no unusual incidents one hour after the ban ended. – Reuters