‘It’s Liberating’: Saudi Women Take The Wheel As Decades-Old Driving Ban Ends

The change comes even as a crackdown on women's rights activists has been sweeping the ultraconservative kingdom.
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At the stroke of midnight local time on Sunday, extraordinary scenes unfolded on the roads of Saudi Arabia.

Women were seen behind the wheels of cars and astride motorcycles — driving on the country’s streets for the first time in decades, following the Islamic kingdom’s decision to lift the world’s only ban on female drivers.

Pedestrians cheered as women motorists drove by, and male drivers shouted words of support and offered thumbs-ups through car windows. Photos shared on social media showed Saudi police officers giving out flower bouquets and cards with words of encouragement emblazoned on them to women drivers.

“I always knew this day would come. But it came fast. Sudden,” talk show host Samar Almogren told The Guardian as she drove across the capital Riyadh. “I feel free like a bird.”

Other women used similar language to describe their maiden driving experiences. “It’s liberating,” one woman told Al-Arabiya on Sunday.

“I feel happy, relieved, I feel like I’m free,” an oncologist in Jeddah enthused, according to CNN, as she drove her husband and children around the city.

EXCLUSIVE: @AlArabiya_Eng spoke to one of the first #Saudi woman to begin driving in #SaudiArabia's capital #Riyadh.

Follow our special coverage on #SaudiWomenDriving: https://t.co/BRbeHazpZi pic.twitter.com/13rgZ8gkiI

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) June 23, 2018

#SaudiWomenDriving: #Saudi women in drivers’ seats not only in cars, but motorcycles as well https://t.co/eAiLTSx0A7 pic.twitter.com/oHO6CFHj0u

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) June 23, 2018

VIDEO: Scenes of celebrations and Arab ululations as women being to drive in #SaudiArabia.

Read more on historic day of #SaudiWomenDriving: https://t.co/BRbeHazpZi pic.twitter.com/PpyLQgPMsU

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) June 23, 2018

Immediately following the historic first few minutes of #SaudiWomenDriving, #Saudi police officers present Saudi women motorists with bouquets of flowers and words of encouragement. pic.twitter.com/YHQUHvyYKp

— SAPRAC (@SapracOrg) June 24, 2018

Saudi Arabian officials announced last year they would be overturning the nation’s longstanding ban on women drivers — part of a series of reforms pushed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman aimed at modernizing the Arab state. It was announced in May that the ban would officially lift on June 24.

The ban’s reversal, however, has coincided with a recent crackdown on women’s rights activists in the country. According to human rights groups, more than a dozen activists have been arrested since May, including Loujain al-Hathloul, a prominent campaigner against the driving ban. Amnesty International said on Friday that al-Hathloul, as well as at least seven other activists, are currently behind bars facing lengthy prison sentences.

“While we welcome the fact that women can finally get behind the wheel, we should not forget that many people are still behind bars for their work in fighting for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia,” Samah Hadid, Amnesty’s Middle East campaigns director, said in a statement.

Hadid added that while the lifting of the ban “is a long-overdue small step in the right direction, [it] must now be followed by reforms to end a whole range of discriminatory laws and practices,” including the country’s restrictive guardianship laws that require women to get the consent of male guardians for a variety of basic needs.

#Saudi Arabia: “There can be no real celebration on June 24 while the women who campaigned for the right to drive and their supporters remain behind bars.” -- @sarahleah1 https://t.co/NYbgRtOOct pic.twitter.com/QRmgJSAgMN

— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) June 23, 2018

As the world’s only ban on women driving has ended in #Saudi Arabia, remember the feminists whose decades of activism brought this victory. Several have been detained since May. Call for their freedom. I wrote this in their support https://t.co/s96wLY70lA #StandwithSaudiFeminists

— Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) June 24, 2018

Saudi Arabia began issuing driving licenses to women in early June. By 2020, three million women in Saudi Arabia could receive licenses, according to The Guardian, citing estimates by the consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Social media was abuzz on Sunday with images and videos of women getting behind the wheel in Saudi Arabia for the first time. Scroll down to see a sampling of them.

"At last!"

Saudi Arabia becomes the last country in the world to allow women to drive. https://t.co/vfOqNTBk9o pic.twitter.com/NmsTDXIGvr

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 24, 2018

Driving off! The first female drivers take to the highway in Jeddah to cheers. #SaudiWomenDriving pic.twitter.com/08zDvhxdW5

— Lindsey Hilsum (@lindseyhilsum) June 23, 2018

Midnight in Jeddah... and she’s going to drive! #SaudiWomenDriving pic.twitter.com/ZWnHS5FpNy

— Lindsey Hilsum (@lindseyhilsum) June 23, 2018

Sara al Haj - driving to her cousin’s house. For the first time. #SaudiWomenDriving pic.twitter.com/psE384CtFs

— Lindsey Hilsum (@lindseyhilsum) June 23, 2018

A historic moment that symbolizes the #New #Saudi and its #Vision2030 in action ...
Thank yous to everyone who made this possible...
New chapter is about to be written...#SaudiWomenDriving #SaudiArabian #LookAtMeNow#تستحقينها pic.twitter.com/ueiBHfrHxw

— Muna AbuSulayman منى (@abusulayman) June 23, 2018

EXCLUSIVE: @AlArabiya_Eng spoke to one of the first #Saudi woman to begin driving in #SaudiArabia's capital #Riyadh.

Follow our special coverage on #SaudiWomenDriving: https://t.co/BRbeHazpZi pic.twitter.com/13rgZ8gkiI

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) June 23, 2018

WATCH: 'I'm driving myself to work for the first time,' says Fatima Al Katheer, a #Saudi bank employee. https://t.co/4Y3VL5jPrA #SaudiWomenDriving pic.twitter.com/cq1xOyep2t

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) June 24, 2018

WATCH: ‘It’s liberating!’ #Saudi women take first journeys behind the wheel. Here's make up artist Maha Al Ghamdi's take on her first drive: https://t.co/4Y3VL5jPrA #SaudiWomenDriving pic.twitter.com/bJ35yp3OG3

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) June 24, 2018

As women get behind the wheel in Saudi Arabia, CNN looks at the long road the country took to get to this point: https://t.co/3wnjVN3rKP pic.twitter.com/poespWRdFA

— CNN International (@cnni) June 19, 2018

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