Saudi Women Driver

The Saudi Arabia with strict gender segregation, tough Islamic laws, and dress codes, no longer exists. The country's women are now truly in the drivers seat.

Saudi salesman Majd had just begun his wedding preparations when his fiancee sought to enshrine in their marriage contract a condition already guaranteed by law -- her right to drive.

Speed-crazed women drivers are bound to turn heads in the deeply conservative desert kingdom, which overturned the world's only ban on female motorists in June as part of a much-hyped liberalisation drive led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Two million Muslims gather in Saudi Arabia this week for the hajj as the annual pilgrimage becomes increasingly hi-tech with apps to help the faithful navigate Islam's holiest sites.

Long relegated to the back seat, Saudi women celebrated taking the wheel for the first time this week in a much-awaited rite of passage, but one crucial hurdle remains -- the attitude of men.

Among those who cheered the end of ban on women drivers were some Saudi police officers who handed out roses to the new drivers. Images of the uniformed officers handing out flowers to women drivers began circulating on social media shortly after the ban was lifted.

At Uber-rival Careem's offices on Sunday, staff gathered to celebrate the women's first day on the job.

Reem Farahat waited for a ride request. Her phone pinged. "I've already cried twice," she said, heading out to work as one of Saudi Arabia's first female drivers for Careem.

Al-Hamad drove a 2012 car, in which Kimi Raikkonen won that year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as part of a parade of the French manufacturer's cars to mark the return of the race after a 10-year absence.

Women will hit the roads in Saudi Arabia on Sunday with the lifting of the world's last ban on female drivers, long seen as an emblem of women's repression in the conservative kingdom.

Overturning the world's only ban on female drivers, long a symbol of repression against women, is the most striking reform yet launched by powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Ten women in Saudi Arabia were issued driver's licenses this week, the first women in decades to be given the paperwork that will allow them to legally drive in the kingdom. The women already had valid licenses from other countries, which allowed them to qualify for Saudi licenses ahead of June 24, when a countrywide ban on women driving will be re...

Saudi Arabia has temporarily released eight people accused of communicating with organisations opposed to the kingdom but is holding nine others in detention, state news agency SPA reported on Saturday.

It was just days before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's March visit to the United States when Loujain al-Hathloul, one of Saudi Arabia's most high profile feminists, was stopped by security officers as she drove on a highway near her university in Abu Dhabi

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has cast himself as a reformer, advocating equality for women and granting them the right to drive.

The Saudi Arabia with strict gender segregation, tough Islamic laws, and dress codes, no longer exists. The country's women are now truly in the drivers seat.

Saudi salesman Majd had just begun his wedding preparations when his fiancee sought to enshrine in their marriage contract a condition already guaranteed by law -- her right to drive.

Speed-crazed women drivers are bound to turn heads in the deeply conservative desert kingdom, which overturned the world's only ban on female motorists in June as part of a much-hyped liberalisation drive led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Two million Muslims gather in Saudi Arabia this week for the hajj as the annual pilgrimage becomes increasingly hi-tech with apps to help the faithful navigate Islam's holiest sites.

Long relegated to the back seat, Saudi women celebrated taking the wheel for the first time this week in a much-awaited rite of passage, but one crucial hurdle remains -- the attitude of men.

Among those who cheered the end of ban on women drivers were some Saudi police officers who handed out roses to the new drivers. Images of the uniformed officers handing out flowers to women drivers began circulating on social media shortly after the ban was lifted.

At Uber-rival Careem's offices on Sunday, staff gathered to celebrate the women's first day on the job.

Reem Farahat waited for a ride request. Her phone pinged. "I've already cried twice," she said, heading out to work as one of Saudi Arabia's first female drivers for Careem.

Al-Hamad drove a 2012 car, in which Kimi Raikkonen won that year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as part of a parade of the French manufacturer's cars to mark the return of the race after a 10-year absence.

Women will hit the roads in Saudi Arabia on Sunday with the lifting of the world's last ban on female drivers, long seen as an emblem of women's repression in the conservative kingdom.

Overturning the world's only ban on female drivers, long a symbol of repression against women, is the most striking reform yet launched by powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Ten women in Saudi Arabia were issued driver's licenses this week, the first women in decades to be given the paperwork that will allow them to legally drive in the kingdom. The women already had valid licenses from other countries, which allowed them to qualify for Saudi licenses ahead of June 24, when a countrywide ban on women driving will be re...

Saudi Arabia has temporarily released eight people accused of communicating with organisations opposed to the kingdom but is holding nine others in detention, state news agency SPA reported on Saturday.

It was just days before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's March visit to the United States when Loujain al-Hathloul, one of Saudi Arabia's most high profile feminists, was stopped by security officers as she drove on a highway near her university in Abu Dhabi

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has cast himself as a reformer, advocating equality for women and granting them the right to drive.