King Salman of Saudi Arabia has issued a decree ordering that women be allowed to drive, Saudi state media has reported. Under the conservative kingdom’s previous laws, women were banned from driving.
The decree orders the Saudi interior minister to draft and adopt necessary amendments to the traffic regulations and to form a special commission consisting of the ministers of interior, finance, labor and development to “study the necessary arrangements” needed for the implementation of the new rules, as reported by the state SPA news agency.
The new rules are expected to come into force on June 24, 2018, according to the decree.
The decree states that the move must “apply and adhere to the necessary Sharia standards,” adding that most members of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars had approved the new regulations.
1st time in a history: #Saudi women were allowed to enter sports stadium for Kingdom's 87th anniversary https://t.co/z3SFKl89Np pic.twitter.com/HmzKJLFEU7
— RT (@RT_com) September 25, 2017
The US was quick to welcome the move with State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert telling journalists Washington is “happy” and that it’s “a great step in the right direction.”
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