Women in Saudi Arabia have been celebrating the news that they will finally be able to drive, a landmark step that brings the conservative kingdom in line with the rest of the world and will allow many more women to work.
The Saudi Foreign ministry announced Tuesday that a royal decree has been issued that will allow women to drive by next June.
"This is a historic big day in our kingdom," Prince Khaled bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the US, said Tuesday in a briefing with reporters.
The move follows years of activism and appeals both from within and outside the Gulf nation.
A Saudi woman walks near car down a street in the Saudi capital Riyadh on September 27, 2017.
Kholoud Attar, a 32-year-old Saudi designer and magazine owner who has been running her business for 10 years, told CNN the change would make a "huge difference" both to her and to her female employees.
"Being able to drive really facilitates a lot of logistics and helps with shaving off the time to get things done," she said. "It's so thrilling to be able to do this."
For her female workers, the biggest gain will be in not having to pay for a driver or other transportation out of their salaries, Attar said. Employing a driver currently eats up a third of the average monthly salary for her staff members, who may also have to find the money for their children's care or education, she said.
As for those who remain opposed to women driving, Attar said, their voices "just became much quieter" thanks to the government saying it would be allowed.
Naijanews.
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