NewsFlash English

Recently the Saudi Foreign Ministry announced that a royal decree had been issued, allowing women to drive in the Kingdom from June 2018. This is a landmark step for the ultra-conservative country.

Saudi Arabian women have been celebrating the news that they will finally be able to drive. Currently, they still need either a male member of their family, or a male chauffeur, to get around. Many women have previously been jailed for trying to drive in the Kingdom.

The gains will be enormous for the oil rich country, as women will now not need to spend vast amounts of their salaries on hiring male drivers, so their spending power will thus increase.

• Download PDF

Today let’s talk about women not being allowed to drive a car in Saudi Arabia. Can you imagine a woman in your country not being allowed to drive a car simply because she is a woman? It’s hard to imagine!

Saudi women have been and still are threatened with immediate arrest or possible legal action if they are caught behind a wheel of a car. So far, the threats have failed. Saudi women continue to flout the ban.

Category: Saudi Arabia / Women drivers / Driving ban

• Download PDF