In a landmark decree stated by King Salman, all Saudi women will soon be allowed to ride motorcycles. The motorcycling ban has been lifted soon after the driving ban was lifted earlier this year.
Saudi Arabia, previously the only country in the world that disallowed women from driving, has finally abolished the rule. Come June 2018, women will also be able to drive cars and trucks and ride motorcycles.
Under an ambitious gender reform push, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is bringing these welcome changes. The Saudi Arabian General Directorate of Traffic showed details of the new regulations on Friday, just three months after King Salman decreed that women shall be allowed to drive. The Royal Decree states that driving laws will be equal for both men and women, with no special license plates for female-driven cars. Female drivers and riders involved in road accidents or traffic lawbreakers will be processed at traffic centers run by women.
Saudi Arabia was ranked as the seventh worst country for women by the World Economic Forum in its annual Global Gender Gap Report. According to the country’s guardianship system, a male member of a family must grant permission to a woman to study, travel, and perform various other activities that one would otherwise not need permission for. Saudi Arabia is uplifting its women one step at a time in a bid to achieve gender equality in the country. In summer of this year, women were allowed access into three sports stadiums in the country. More recently, the ban on women entering cinemas was also lifted this month.
The abolishment of the motorcycling and driving ban is one of many such huge steps that would bring the genders of a nation closer together in terms of independence and equality. We welcome the lifting of the ban with open arms!
