Saudi Arabia's state media has said provisions are being made for driving licenses to be issued to women. The ultraconservative kingdom is the only country in the world where women are not allowed behind the wheel.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Jamali
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Citing a royal decree, Saudi state media on Tuesday reported that women would be allowed to drive.
"The royal decree will implement the provisions of traffic regulations, including the issuance of driving licenses for men and women alike," the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.
The highly conservative Muslim kingdom has some of the world's tightest curbs on women's freedoms and is the only country in the world where they are not allowed to drive.
#IAmMyOwnGuardian: Protesting male guardianship in Saudi Arabia
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A ministerial body is to be formed to give advice within 30 days, with the order to be implemented by June 2018, according to the SPA.
The decision comes after years of resistance from women's rights activists, some of whom were sent to prison for defying the driving ban.
Ultraconservative Saudi clerics, who wield considerable influence in the judiciary and education sectors, had warned that allowing women to drive would corrupt society and lead to sin.
Approval needed
Under the country's male guardianship system, male family members — normally a woman's father, husband or brother — must give their permission for her to study or travel.
A decision in April to give Saudi Arabia a place on the United Nations' women's rights commission was described by the watchdog body UN Watch as "like making an arsonist into the town fire chief."
However, Prince Khaled bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington and son of King Salman, said the new law would see women allowed to obtain licenses without the permission of a male relative.
"This is the right time to do the right thing;" Prince Khaled told reporters, adding that the decision was a "huge step forward" and that Saudi "society is ready."
The kingdom also appears to have relaxed some rules as part of its "Vision 2030" plan for economic and social reforms championed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The news was welcomed by the US State Department which called it "a great step in the right direction."
The announcement follows a mixed-gender celebration of the Saudi national day at the weekend, something of an anomaly in a country renowned for its austere interpretation of Islam and strict gender separation.
Women's rights in Saudi Arabia: A timeline
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has lifted its driving ban on women and made other strides toward granting women equal rights. But progress is incredibly slow, and lags far behind the rest of the world.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Ammar
1955: First school for girls, 1970: First university for women
Girls have not always been able to go to school like these students in Riyadh. Enrollment at the first school for girls, Dar Al Hanan, began in 1955. The Riyadh College of Education, the first higher education institution for women, opened in 1970.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Nureldine
2001: ID cards for women
At the start of the 21st century, women could get personal ID cards for the first time. The cards are the only way for them to prove who they are, for example in disputes relating to inheritance or property issues. IDs were only issued with the permission of a woman's guardian, though, and to the guardian instead of directly to the woman. Only in 2006 were women able to get IDs without permission.
Image: Getty Images/J. Pix
2005: End of forced marriages - on paper
Saudi Arabia banned forced marriage in 2005, but marriage contracts continue to be hammered out between the husband-to-be and the father of the bride, not the bride herself.
Image: Getty Images/A.Hilabi
2009: The first female government minister
In 2009, King Abdullah appointed the first female minister to Saudi Arabia's government. Noura al-Fayez became the deputy education minister for women's affairs.
Image: Foreign and Commonwealth Office
2012: First female Olympic athletes
Saudi Arabia agreed to allow female athletes to compete on the national team for the Olympics for the first time. One of them was Sarah Attar, who ran the women's 800 meter race at the 2012 Olympics in London wearing a headscarf. Before the Games, there was speculation that the Saudi Arabian team might be banned for gender discrimination if they didn't allow women to participate.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/J.-G.Mabanglo
2013: Women are allowed to ride bicycles and motorbikes
Saudi leaders allowed women to ride bicycles and motorbikes for the first time in 2013 — but only in recreational areas, wearing full Islamic body covering and with a male relative present.
Image: Getty Images/AFP
2013: First women in the Shura
In February 2013, King Abdullah swore in the first 30 women to the Shura, Saudi Arabia's consultative council. This allowed women to be appointed to these positions, soon they would be allowed to actually run for office...
Image: REUTERS/Saudi TV/Handout
2015: Women can vote and get elected
In Saudi Arabia's 2015 municipal elections, women were able to vote and run for office for the first time. By contrast, New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote, in 1893. Germany did so in 1919. At the 2015 Saudi polls, 20 women were elected to municipal roles in the absolute monarchy.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Batrawy
2017: First female head of the Saudi stock exchange
In February 2017, the Saudi stock exchange names the first female chairperson in its history, Sarah Al Suhaimi.
Image: pictur- alliance/abaca/Balkis Press
2018: Women to be allowed in sports stadiums
On October 29, 2017, the country's General Sports Authority announced that women would be allowed into sports stadiums for the first time. Three previously male-only arenas will soon be open for women as well, starting in early 2018.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Nureldine
2018: Driving ban eliminated
On September 26, 2017, Saudi Arabia announced that women would soon be allowed to drive, causing a flurry of driving courses for women to prepare for June 2018, when they would no longer need permission from their male guardian to get a driver's license or need their guardian in the car when they drive.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Jamali
2019: Saudi women to be notified by text message if they are divorced
The new law, designed to protect them from having their marriage ended without their knowledge, will allow women to check their marital status online or visit a court to get a copy of divorce papers. Human rights defenders say the law does nothing to address the fact that Saudi women can only obtain divorces in exceedingly limited cases — such as with her husband’s consent or if he has harmed her.
