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King Salman Issues Historic Royal Decree Granting Driving Licenses for Women | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud meets with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at Ziguangge Pavilion in the Zhongnanhai leaders’ compound in Beijing in this file photo from March 14, 2014. REUTERS/Lintao Zhang/Pool/Files


Saudi Arabia’s King Salman issued on Tuesday a historic royal decree granting driving licenses for women in the kingdom as of next June, said the Saudi-owned network Al-Arabiya .

The royal decree also ordered the establishment of a high-level committee of involving the ministries of internal affairs, finance, labor and social development. They will be tasked with studying the arrangements to enforce the new law.

“The royal decree will implement the provisions of traffic regulations, including the issuance of driving licenses for men and women alike,” said the state-owned press agency (SPA).

It stipulated that the move must “apply and adhere to the necessary Sharia standards”, without providing details, and said a majority of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars had approved its permissibility.

The kingdom has been opening more areas for women through the government’s modernizing reforms.