Express & Star

Women get behind the wheel as Saudi Arabia driving ban ends

They were steering their way through busy streets just minutes after the world’s last remaining bar on it was lifted.

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Saudi women driving

Saudi women are in the driver’s seat for the first time and steering their way through busy streets just minutes after the world’s last remaining ban on women driving was lifted.

It’s a euphoric and historic moment for women who have had to rely on their husbands, fathers, brothers and drivers to run basic errands, go to work and move around.

Saudi Arabia driving
A child stands next to a car at a showroom in Riyadh (APNariman El-Mofty)

For nearly three decades, Saudi women and the men who support them have been calling for women’s right to drive, facing arrest if they tried to defy the ban as women in other Muslim countries drove freely.

After midnight on Sunday, Saudi women finally joined women around the world in being able to get behind the wheel of a car and simply drive.

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