King Salman of Saudi Arabia signed a decree allowing women to drive on Tuesday. The law will come into effect in June 2018 following an evaluation by a committee of ministers. The move was not anticipated.
The long-demanded law change has come after years of campaigning from activists. Saudi Arabia has perhaps the most restrictive laws for women in the world. Women cannot work, leave the country, get an education or a host of other restrictions without permission from their male guardian.
The campaign to allow women to drive slowly gained more support, including from influential royals.
“Preventing a woman from driving a car is today an issue of rights similar to the one that forbade her from receiving an education or having an independent identity,” said Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a hugely influential business said in 2016, adding, “They are all unjust acts by a traditional society, far more restrictive than what is lawfully allowed by the precepts of religion.”
The news was greeted with delight by Saudi women and international campaigners.
Over the years, here’s how Saudi women have struggled to gain the right to drive:
Saudi Historian: If Women Drive, They May Be Raped
Saudi Researcher: Women Are Too Weak to Drive
Gender Apartheid in Saudi Arabia 101
Saudi Man Jailed for Campaigning Against Male Guardianship
A notice is sent to the male guardian if a women shows her passport at any border control
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