Saudi grants first female driving licenses ahead of ban lift

Saudi Arabia's General Directorate of Traffic issued the first driver’s licenses to 10 women on Monday, just weeks before the lifting of the ban on women driving on June 24, the Kingdom’s Center of International Communication (CIC) said in a statement.

The issuance of the licenses means that for the first time in more than 50 years, women will be able to drive legally in the Kingdom.

Expectations are that next week an additional 2,000 women will join the ranks of licensed drivers in the Kingdom, the statement added.

The 10 women who were issued licenses already held international licenses. They took a brief driving test and eye exam before being issued the licenses at the General Directorate of Traffic in Riyadh.

“I have 12 years of driving experience in Lebanon, Switzerland, and the United States. It's a dream come true that I am about to drive in the Kingdom. The moment I got the news about driving was unbelievable for me,” said Rema Jawdat, a risk analyst, at the Ministry of Economy and Planning.

“Driving, to me, represents having a choice; the choice of independent movement, now we have that option and that's important,” she added.

Last month, Major General Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Bassami, Director at Department of Traffic said regulations were ready for women to take the wheel.

Laws governing training and issuing of license are in place, and 21 sites for exchanging foreign licenses are ready to open.

Five driving schools for women have been opened – one each in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Madinah and Tabuk – and more will be launched soon, he said.

In September 2017, King Salman issued a historic decree allowing women in Saudi Arabia to drive for the first time.