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| AFP/File / FAYEZ NURELDINE
A Saudi woman test-drives a car during an automotive exhibition for women in the capital Riyadh on May 13, 2018 |
Saudi Arabia on Monday began issuing its first driving
licences to women in decades, authorities said, just weeks before the
historic lifting of the conservative kingdom's ban on female motorists.
Ten
Saudi women swapped their foreign licences for Saudi ones in multiple
cities, including the capital Riyadh, as the kingdom prepares to end its
ban on June 24.
The move, which follows a government crackdown on women
activists, is part of a much-publicised liberalisation drive launched by
powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he seeks to modernise the
petro-state.
"Ten Saudi women made history on Monday when they
were issued driving licences," said the information ministry's Centre
for International Communication (CIC).
"Expectations are that next week an additional 2,000 women will join the ranks of licensed drivers in the kingdom."
The
official Saudi Press Agency said the swap came after women applicants
were made to undergo a "practical test", but it did not offer details.
"It's
a dream come true that I am about to drive in the kingdom," Rema
Jawdat, one of the women to receive a licence, was quoted as saying by
the CIC.
"Driving to me represents having a choice -- the choice
of independent movement. Now we have that option," added Jawdat, an
official at the ministry of economy and planning who has previous
driving experience in Lebanon and Switzerland.
In preparation for
the lifting of the ban, Saudi Arabia last week passed a landmark law to
criminalise sexual harassment, introducing a prison term of up to five
years and a maximum penalty of 300,000 riyals ($80,000).
- Reforms and crackdown -
Saudi
Arabia, the only country in the world where women are not allowed to
drive, has long faced global criticism for what is seen as oppression of
women.
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| AFP/File / Bryan R. Smith
Saudi Arabia is lifting
its ban on women drivers as part of much-publicised reforms by Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman to modernise the petro-state |
But Prince Mohammed, who recently undertook a global
tour aimed at reshaping his kingdom's austere image, has sought to break
with long-held restrictions on women.
The self-styled reformer
has also ended a decades-long ban on cinemas, allowed mixed-gender
concerts and clipped the powers of the long-feared religious police.
But casting a shadow on his reforms, Saudi Arabia last
week said it detained 17 people for "undermining" the kingdom's
security, in what campaigners have dubbed a sweeping crackdown against
activists.
Rights groups have identified many of the detainees as
women campaigners for the right to drive and to end the conservative
Islamic country's male guardianship system.
"It's welcomed that
the Saudi authorities have finally issued licences to women, but the
very women who campaigned for this for years are now behind bars instead
of behind wheel," tweeted Samah Hadid, Amnesty International's Middle
East director of campaigns.
"The government must release them now."
Authorities said eight of the detainees had been "temporarily released" until their investigation is completed.
Nine
suspects, including four women, remain in custody after they
"confessed" to a slew of charges such as suspicious contact with
"hostile" organisations and recruiting people in sensitive government
positions, according to SPA.
Previous reports in state-backed media branded some of the detainees traitors and "agents of embassies".
Campaigners have dismissed the reports as a "smear" campaign and the crackdown has sparked a torrent of global criticism.
The
European Parliament last week approved a resolution calling for the
unconditional release of the detained activists and other human rights
defenders, while urging a more vocal response from EU nations.
AFP
