SAUDI ARABIA: Ban on women driving officially ends

Saudi women are officially allowed to get behind the wheel, after a decades-old driving ban was lifted. The change was announced last September and Saudi Arabia issued the first licences to women earlier this month. It was the only country left in the world where women could not drive and families had to hire private […]

Saudi women are officially allowed to get behind the wheel, after a decades-old driving ban was lifted.

The change was announced last September and Saudi Arabia issued the first licences to women earlier this month.

It was the only country left in the world where women could not drive and families had to hire private chauffeurs for female relatives.

However, the move comes amid an intensified crackdown on activists who campaigned for the right to drive.

At least eight women’s rights activists are being detained and could face trial in a counter-terrorism court and long prison sentences for their activism, human rights group Amnesty says.

“It is a historic moment for every Saudi woman,” Saudi television presenter Sabika al-Dosari told the AFP news agency