Last week, Saudi Arabia announced that starting in June of 2018, women can now drive. This groundbreaking policy was announced in a royal decree read live on state television and in media events in Washington.
Saudi Arabia has become a global symbol of the oppression of women since they were not allowed to drive. The country is now hoping the kingdom’s international reputation will benefit from this policy.
There used to be many reasons over the years for why women in Saudi Arabia couldn’t drive. Some reasons included it to be inappropriate. Others stated male drivers wouldn’t know how to handle having a woman in the car next to them (gasp) and that driving can lead to promiscuity and the collapse of the Saudi family. One cleric claimed that driving harmed the woman’s ovaries (this has no evidence to back up).
Women and feminists all over the world are cheering and happy to see a victory for Saudi Arabian women, who were once known as the most oppressed women. Rights groups and Saudi activists have campaigned for the ban to be overturned before. Women even got in the driver’s seat to make a point; these women were arrested. These women now will be able to obtain a driver’s license without needing permission of their husbands, fathers, or any male guardian despite “guardianship laws” (laws that give men power over their female relatives).
Saudi Arabian women are excited to take the wheel, because they no longer have to pay for a driver or wait around for a male relative to take her to work or wherever she needs to go. No longer will the driving service eat up her paycheck and no longer will she be arrested for taking the wheel in a car. She is woman, she can drive, and Saudi Arabia is ready.