The change may be the most visible sign yet of a modernizing Saudi Arabia, with reforms implemented by the heir apparent to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Signed by his father, King Salman, and broadcast on state television, the decree said that the “majority of senior scholars” had deemed the change legitimate under Islamic law and ordered the government ministries concerned to make whatever legal adjustments are required to implement it by June 24.
For much of the rest of the world, the prohibition on women driving has long symbolized the many restrictions on individual freedoms in Saudi Arabia, particularly those applying to women.
The Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Khaled bin Salman, who spoke at a news conference in Washington, hailed the development as a “historic, big day in our kingdom.” He said that female drivers would not need to travel with male “guardians” or seek permission to obtain driver’s licenses, and that women’s licenses from other countries in the region would be recognized.
The change aligns Saudi Arabia with other conservative monarchies in the Persian Gulf that have long allowed women to drive. It was unclear whether the lifting of requirements that male relatives accompany women or give permission for them to leave their homes, still implemented in much of the country, would apply to activities other than driving.
The Saudi government, which has long endured negative publicity over its restrictive domestic policies, was eager to broadcast the change. In addition to the news conference at the embassy in Washington, the Foreign Ministry contacted reporters offering to arrange calls with selected Saudi women to comment on the policy.
The ambassador said the decision was not based on religion but on social and economic considerations, and was part of the modernization reforms being implemented by the crown prince.
“There is no wrong time to do the right thing,” the ebullient ambassador said. With more women entering the workplace, “they need to drive themselves to work.” He said the implementation delay was needed to ensure that the legal and logistical environment was prepared for the change. “We have to make sure our streets are ready” for a potential doubling in traffic, he said.
Here There and Everywhere 
You’ll love this one: https://youtu.be/aZMbTFNp4wI
Love love love the video! When I taught, Saudis were my favorite students, so bright, so funny, so smart and so earnest. This guy cracks me up. Humor is a wonderful weapon against those clerics who claimed driving would hurt a woman’s ovaries. It’s true! They really said that!
I would be very wary and worry about fully veiled women behind the wheels on expressways in the kingdom. I hope the royal decree doesn’t come with any bizarre strings attached. Hope they let women breath a little easy once in a while driving. Hope the decree allows for that.
Nice to see you, BL 🙂
Fully veiled women drive in other countries, Duffs, and tend to make allowances for their limited peripheral vision. To me, they are no more or less dangerous than those of both sexes busy with their phones while driving, perhaps less dangerous because they are paying more attention. Women and men in all cultures, in all states of dress have lapses of attention due to children, pets, cigarettes, texts, looking for directions, conversations with passengers . . .
You bring up a good point about the allowance and enforcement of the law in The Kingdom. In every culture, there are incidences of police who threaten women who are alone, and demand sexual favors. Laws in Saudi Arabia are arbitrarily enforced, and this fragile new right will be vulnerable to abuse. Change brings turbulence, and transitions bring unease. I, too, would like to think that the women of Saudi Arabia will have an opportunity to breathe easy while driving. 🙂