Women in Saudi Arabia are now allowed to drive for the first time since the religiously conservative kingdom overturned the world’s only ban on female motorists.
The lifting of the prohibition on Sunday, which follows a sweeping crackdown on prominent women’s rights activists who staunchly advocated for the right to drive, was first announced last year as part of the then newly-appointed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to reform the country.
“Now every woman has the right to drive a car anywhere in the kingdom,” state broadcaster al-Ekhbariya quoted traffic authorities spokesman Colonel Samy bin Mohammad as saying on Sunday.
Saudi Arabia, which has some of the world’s tightest restrictions on women, started issuing its first driving licences for female motorists earlier this month.
On Thursday, it launched a three-day campaign called “place your trust in God and drive” to educate women on driving and raise awareness about safety regulations.
Activists in the region welcomed the lifting on the ban but cautioned that there were still many hurdles for women wanting to get behind the wheel.
“This is a very good step, but of course there are so many challenges that women are facing now with the lifting of the ban,” said Suad Abu-Dayyeh, Middle East consultant for the Equality Now non-governmental organization.
“The fees for having lessons are six times more than men,” she told Al Jazeera from Jordan’s capital, Amman. “This is one of the restrictions and this makes women not being able to access driving licenses in a fast way, in addition to the limited driving schools in Saudi Arabia.”
Women’s efforts to overturn the ban in the country go back decades.
In 1990, more than 40 women drove their cars in the capital, Riyadh – the first public demonstration against the prohibition.
In 2007, activists submitted a petition to the then-King Abdullah, asking for the right to drive. The next year, one of those activists – Wajeha al-Huwaider – made a film of herself driving and posted it online.
Dozens of women followed suit over the next few years.
In a reversal of the long-standing rule, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud signed a royal decree in September 2017 that said women would be allowed to drive “in accordance with Islamic laws”.
The move was described as being part of the crown prince’s reform drive.
But the arrest of women’s rights activists over the past few weeks has dampened the mood among observers and citizens alike and cast doubt over Riyadh’s commitment to effecting change as part of its so-called Vision 2030 economic reform program.
The prominent activists had long been advocating an end to the ban on Saudi women driving and the abolishment of the male guardianship system.
They were branded threats to national security and accused of being foreign agents. They face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.