Skip to content
The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper

The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper

Title

Name

Primary Menu
  • Home
  • Mindanao
  • Visayas
  • National
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • International
  • SciTech
  • Health & Wellness
  • Sports
  • About Us
    • Regional Advertising Rates
    • Contact Us
    • Profile
  • Home
  • International
  • Saudi Arabia driving ban on women to be lifted – BBC News
  • Featured
  • International

Saudi Arabia driving ban on women to be lifted – BBC News

Editor September 27, 2017

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has issued a decree allowing women to drive for the first time, to the joy of activists.

The Gulf kingdom is the only country in the world that bans women from driving.

Until now, only men were allowed licences and women who drove in public risked being arrested and fined.

Praise for the move has been pouring in from inside the Saudi kingdom, as well as around the world. US President Donald Trump said it was a “positive step” towards promoting women’s rights.

Campaigner Sahar Nassif told the BBC from Jeddah that she was “very, very excited – jumping up and down and laughing”.

“I’m going to buy my dream car, a convertible Mustang, and it’s going to be black and yellow!”

The country’s US ambassador, Prince Khaled bin Salman, confirmed that women would not have to get male permission to take driving lessons, and would be able to drive anywhere they liked.

Because of the law, many families have had to employ private drivers to help transport female relatives.

Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul, who was detained for 73 days in 2014 for flouting the ban, tweeted “thank God” following the announcement.

The move was welcomed by the US state department, which called it “a great step in the right direction”.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres echoed that sentiment.

Manal al-Sharif, an organiser of the Women2Drive campaign who has also been imprisoned for driving, said on Twitter that Saudi Arabia would “never be the same again”.

The hashtags “I am my own guardian” and “Saudi Women Can Drive” quickly gained traction on social media.

Not everyone reacted positively, however, with conservative voices accusing the government of “bending the verses of Sharia”.

“As far as I remember, Sharia scholars have said it was haram (forbidden) for women to drive. How come it has suddenly become halal (permissible)?” one critic tweeted.

Others emphasised that despite the latest development, Saudi Arabia remains a long way off gender equality.

Amnesty International’s Philip Luther said it was “just one step”, adding: “We also need to see a whole range of discriminatory laws and practices swept away in Saudi Arabia.”(BBC News)

Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41408195

 

fb-share-icon
Tweet 20

Continue Reading

Previous: Anger as Swedish neo-Nazis prepare for Yom Kippur march – Al Jazeera
Next: Police hunt down Zambo cop killer

Related News

Dmitry-Medvedev
  • International

Russian official claims nations ready to supply Iran with nuclear weapons

Editor June 23, 2025
Iran-Nuclear-Sites-target
  • International

Nuclear watchdog condemns US attack on Iranian nuclear sites as ‘illegal’

Editor June 23, 2025
Hacker by Tima
  • International

South Korea’s largest telecom operator suffers mass exodus of customers over data leak

Editor June 2, 2025

Trending News

Visa Stays Ahead of the Curve in AI-Driven Commerce in the Philippines Jeffrey-Navarro,-Country-Manager,-Visa-Philippines 1
  • Business

Visa Stays Ahead of the Curve in AI-Driven Commerce in the Philippines

July 1, 2025
Singapore Airlines Group continues progress on Decarbonisation Journey with Neste and World Energy Agreements Singapore-Airline 2
  • Business

Singapore Airlines Group continues progress on Decarbonisation Journey with Neste and World Energy Agreements

July 1, 2025
Pag-IBIG Fund Earns 13th Straight Unmodified Opinion from COA Official-Artwork-for-PR2025-14 3
  • National

Pag-IBIG Fund Earns 13th Straight Unmodified Opinion from COA

July 1, 2025
Michael Harris Conlin Wins 2025 Philippine Barista Championship, Paving the Way for Philippine Coffee on the World Stage Michael-Harris-Conlin 4
  • Sports

Michael Harris Conlin Wins 2025 Philippine Barista Championship, Paving the Way for Philippine Coffee on the World Stage

June 30, 2025
Millions At Risk: Why Chronic Disease is a Crisis We Can’t Ignore CKD1 5
  • Health

Millions At Risk: Why Chronic Disease is a Crisis We Can’t Ignore

June 27, 2025
  • Facebook
  • X
  • YouTube
  • Blog
Copyright © 2025. The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper. All Rights Reserved. | MoreNews by AF themes.