For the first time, Saudi Arabia has started issuing driving licenses to drive women. The traffic department has started the process by licensing 10 women in Riyadh on Monday, state media said. News Middle East Eye.
According to the news, ten women from Saudi Arabia have been given driving licenses on Monday for carrying out licenses in other countries including the UK, Canada and Lebanon. Likewise women who have foreign driving licenses can convert it to a Saudi Arabia license.
Saudi Arabia is going to withdraw all restrictions on driving vehicles from 24 June. King Salman announced this in a decree last September.
Earlier, traffic director of the country Mohammad al-Bassami confirmed that all the steps needed to drive women were taken. In order to teach women to drive, five schools are allowed in different cities. Many applications are awaiting permission.
He also said that the driving school for women has already been started. Many women have been trained to perform duties in the traffic and administrative departments of the traffic department.
Although the Saudi government announced an ambitious plan to increase the participation of women in the workplace including allowing women to drive, there are still many restrictions for women in the country. In Saudi Arabia, the provision of male guardianship of women in the country requires the permission of the parents, husbands or brothers for the study, travel or any other work of women. Saudi activists claim that this guardianship is a big issue for women's rights fight. Saudi court has given judgment against about 30 activists and rebels since 2011. According to HRW many of them have been jailed for up to 15 years.
A few days ago, a number of women activists suspected of revival of Yuvraaj were arrested. However, on Sunday, some of them were temporarily released, the country's authorities said.