A number of women hit the road on Sunday for the first time ever after Saudi Arabia’s King Salman lifted the ban on driving.
According to USA Today, the lift was part of a package of reforms “designed to loosen the rigid rules” currently governing the country’s society and economy.
Leading up to the lift of the ban, Saudi Arabia was full of pink parking spaces and digital signs by the government reading things like “Our sisterly women drivers, we wish you continued safety.”
“I’ve waited long enough and now to know that my daughter-in-law and granddaughters, will have a normal life, I feel at peace,” 67-year-old Layla Moussa told USA Today. “I didn’t think it would happen in my lifetime.”
Another woman, Dania Alagili, told The Washington Post that she’s been waiting for this day “for the last 30 years.”
IT IS AFTER MIDNIGHT IN SAUDI ARABIA AND IT HAS BEGUN!! WOMEN ARE DRIVING!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
— Dina Shihabi (@dinashihabi) June 23, 2018
WATCH: One of the first women in Saudi Arabia driving a car for the 1st time.
This is a great step in advancing women’s rights and equality. pic.twitter.com/DKGjazuZ4H
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) June 24, 2018
However, it appears as though Saudi Arabia has quite a bit of progress to make — and the country’s government’s celebration of the ban lift is arguably hypocritical.
According to the Post, nearly 30 years ago, dozens of Saudi women gathered in the capital to drive around in protest. Then, just last month, the government arrested a number of women that participated in the 1990 protest.
“There can be no real celebration on June 24 while the women who campaigned for the right to drive and their supporters remain behind bars,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.