Saudi Women Celebrate One-Year Anniversary of Lift on Driving Ban
The historic lifting of the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia took place around a year ago. For the very first time in the kingdom’s history, women were allowed to drive cars on their own
Prior to the lifting of the ban in June 2018, women used to hire drivers or depend on their husbands or male relatives for transportation. If the police caught a woman driving on her own, she would be detained until a male relative would come and sign a pledge that she will never be allowed to drive again. Needless to say, many women across the leading Gulf nation felt discriminated against under this law.
Today, almost a year after the ban became history, women drive their cars through the streets of Saudi Arabia freely and without worry. In fact, many of the kingdom’s policies have come under scrutiny in an effort to make the country more moderate.
All over social media, women celebrated a year since the ban was lifted with pictures and videos of them driving, commemorating the moment and inspiring the future generations to come.
It is heartwarming to see how happy these women are with exercising
It seems that the kingdom is serious about change with more and more progressive policies coming into effect. Some of these included the reopening of cinemas for the first time in 25 years, organizing international cultural festivals, and just a few days ago, opening the first nightclub in Saudi Arabia.
