saudi arabia to allow women to drive
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today
Egypt Today, egypt today
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today

In historic decision

Saudi Arabia to allow women to drive

Egypt Today, egypt today

Egypt Today, egypt today Saudi Arabia to allow women to drive

Saudi Arabia will allow women to drive
Riyadh - Egypt Today

Saudi Arabia will allow women to drive from next June, state media said Tuesday, in a historic decision that makes the Gulf kingdom the last country in the world to permit women behind the wheel.
The longstanding driving ban was seen globally as a symbol of repression of women in the ultra-conservative kingdom and comes after a years-long resistance from female activists.
The decision, which risks riling religious conservatives, is part of powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's reform drive aimed at adapting to a post-oil era and improving its battered global reputation due to its harsh human rights record.
"The royal decree will implement the provisions of traffic regulations, including the issuance of driving licences for men and women alike," the Saudi Press Agency said. It added that the decree would be implemented from June 2018.
Conservative clerics in Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy ruled according to sharia law, have justified the ban over the years, including one who claimed that driving harmed women's ovaries.
Many women's rights activists were jailed over the years for defiantly flouting the ban.
- Euphoria and disbelief -
The shock announcement was met in Riyadh with a mix of euphoria and disbelief.
"I am very excited and shocked at the same time... I expected this to happen 10 or 20 years later," Haya al-Rikayan, a 30-year-old bank employee in Riyadh, told AFP.
The announcement follows a dazzling gender-mixed celebration of Saudi national day at the weekend, the first of its kind, which aimed to spotlight the kingdom's reform push, analysts say, despite a backlash from religious conservatives.
Men and women danced in the streets to drums and thumping electronic music, in scenes that are a stunning anomaly in a country known for its tight gender segregation and an austere vision of Islam.
Women were also allowed into a sports stadium -- previously a male-only arena -- to watch a musical concert, a move that chimes with the government's "Vision 2030" plan for social and economic reform as the kingdom prepares for a post-oil era.
With more than half the country aged under 25, Prince Mohammed, the architect of Vision 2030, is seen as catering to the aspiration of the youth with an array of entertainment options and promoting more women in the workforce.
- Tight restrictions -
The gambit to loosen social restrictions, which had so far not translated into more political and civil rights, seeks to push criticism over a recent political crackdown out of the public eye, some analysts say.
Authorities this month arrested more than two dozen people, including influential clerics and activists, in what critics decried as a coordinated crackdown.
Ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia has some of the world's tightest restrictions on women, despite ambitious government reforms aimed at boosting female employment.
Under the country's guardianship system, a male family member -- normally the father, husband or brother -- must grant permission for a woman's study, travel and other activities.
But the kingdom appears to be relaxing some norms as part of the Vision 2030 plan.
Tuesday's announcement comes at a crucial time for Saudi Arabia.
The OPEC kingpin is in a battle for regional influence with arch-rival Iran, bogged down in a controversial military intervention in neighbouring Yemen and at loggerheads with fellow US Gulf ally Qatar.
The 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed is set to be the first millennial to occupy the throne, although the timing of his ascension remains unknown.
Already viewed as the de facto ruler controlling all the major levers of government, from defence to the economy, the heir apparent is seen as stamping out traces of internal dissent before any formal transfer of power from his 81-year-old father King Salman.

egypttoday
egypttoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

saudi arabia to allow women to drive saudi arabia to allow women to drive



GMT 08:41 2018 Saturday ,13 January

Saudi women to attend football game

GMT 11:50 2017 Thursday ,07 December

Lebanese singer Hiba Tawaji dazzles

GMT 09:32 2017 Sunday ,03 December

Special centers to hold arrested

GMT 07:10 2017 Thursday ,16 November

Misk forum aims to help Saudi youngsters

GMT 09:34 2017 Tuesday ,14 November

No immediate driving licenses in Saudi

GMT 03:33 2016 Saturday ,24 September

Diesel Black Gold fashion show during Milan Fashion Week

GMT 11:12 2018 Wednesday ,03 October

Osaka saunters into China Open third round

GMT 03:18 2017 Tuesday ,10 January

Home Centre decides to go in for a fresh look

GMT 14:44 2017 Saturday ,06 May

Pharmaceutical industry

GMT 22:32 2016 Wednesday ,24 February

'Deadpool' upends competition at North America box office

GMT 06:44 2017 Friday ,17 March

Bowling, table tennis achievements lauded

GMT 18:11 2017 Saturday ,04 March

Violence claims lives of 18 people across Syria

GMT 11:50 2017 Tuesday ,03 October

Bahrain weather forecast

GMT 12:18 2016 Friday ,30 September

To the importance of Oscar Wilde

GMT 09:53 2012 Friday ,25 May

Amr Yousef heads to Kenya \'Al Montaqem\'

GMT 09:25 2017 Saturday ,07 October

Spain rejects mediation calls as Catalans plan

GMT 22:41 2017 Friday ,02 June

Actress Suzanne Najm Al Din received

GMT 23:52 2017 Tuesday ,03 January

Syrian peace process struggles as rebels

GMT 12:59 2011 Friday ,15 July

Tasting lump of ice with fruit frozen inside

GMT 16:50 2011 Wednesday ,31 August

Justice sues to stop AT&T, t-mobile merger

GMT 21:14 2012 Tuesday ,28 August

Hyundai Veloster turbo SE

GMT 11:50 2011 Friday ,08 July

Russia\'s VTB bank secures record $3.1 bn loan

GMT 07:01 2017 Tuesday ,26 December

Lorde cancels Israel show after pressure

GMT 00:12 2013 Wednesday ,18 September

Damascus clubbers dance on in bid to forget war

GMT 10:55 2011 Tuesday ,15 November

TRA participates in UNESCO General Conference

GMT 18:26 2014 Tuesday ,27 May

Samsung to introduce standalone smart watch

GMT 15:24 2016 Sunday ,07 August

Stranded kayaker rescued after crocodile attack
 
 Egypt Today Facebook,egypt today facebook  Egypt Today Twitter,egypt today twitter Egypt Today Rss,egypt today rss  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
egypttoday, Egypttoday, Egypttoday