Inspired by its young Crown Prince, Saudi Arabia finally ends ban on women’s driving

Saudi Arabia Tuesday announced that women will be allowed to drive from June 2018, signaling a new era inspired by the powerful young Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman in the conservative country whose restrictions on women have long generated international criticism.

The decree said a high-level ministerial committee was being formed to study all the other issues that needed to be addressed for the new policy to take place.

The committee has been given 30 days to provide its recommendations, the decree said, so that the new policy can begin to be carried out from June 24, 2018.

The decree also said that the majority of the Council of Senior Scholars — the kingdom’s top clerical body, whose members are appointed by the king — had agreed that the government could permit women to drive if it was executed in accordance with Shariah law.

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Apart from being banned from driving, Saudi Arabian women have long been under the country’s guardianship system, where a male family member — normally the father, husband or brother — must grant permission for a woman’s study, travel and other activities.

But the tide appeared to be changing since the emergence of the new Crown Prince who is the architect of the country’s Vision 2030, an ambitious plan that seeks to create a new socio-economic system that seeks to reduce Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop service sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, recreation, and tourism.

The 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed who is already viewed by some observers as the de facto ruler controlling all the major aspects of government, including defence and the economy, is set to be the first millennial to occupy the throne in a country where half the population is under 25.

This development notwithstanding, the royal decree lifting the no-driving ban still leaves open the question of whether women would need a male relative’s permission to obtain a driver’s license.

 

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