RIYADH: Saudi women will be allowed to start driving in the kingdom from June 24, the General Department of Traffic Director General Mohammed Al-Bassami said on Tuesday.
“All the requirements for women in the kingdom to start driving have been established,” Bassami was quoted as saying in a statement released by the government.
In September 2017, a royal decree announced the end of a decades-long ban on women driving — the only one of its kind in the world.
Women 18 years of age and older will be allowed to apply for a driver’s license, Bassami said.
Driving schools for women have been set up across five cities in the kingdom, and teachers will include Saudi women who obtained their licenses abroad.
Women with foreign driving licenses will be able to apply for a local one through a separate process, which will also assess their driving skills.
“It is no secret that many women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hold driving licenses from abroad,” the statement added.
Saudi women have previously petitioned the government for the lifting of the ban, and even taken to the wheel in protest.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, is seen as the force behind the lifting of the ban, part of a series of reforms being pushed by the powerful royal in the conservative kingdom.
His Vision 2030 reform plan for a post-oil era seeks to elevate women to nearly one-third of the workforce, up from about 22 percent now.
The decision to allow women to drive could give them the much-needed mobility to join the workforce.
Saudi women now no longer need male permission to start business.
But Saudi activists say social change will only be cosmetic without dismantling the kingdom’s rigid guardianship system, which requires women to seek permission from a male relative to study, travel and other activities.
Saudi Arabia on schedule to lift driving ban on women as planned on June 24
Saudi Arabia on schedule to lift driving ban on women as planned on June 24
- Women 18 years of age and older will be allowed to apply for a driver’s license
- Driving schools for women have been set up across five cities in the kingdom
Threat to Kingdom’s security is ‘red line’ that will be ‘addressed and neutralized,’ Saudi envoy says
- Abdulaziz Alwasil tells UN Security Council the situation in southern Yemen is ‘a just cause with social and historic dimensions’ that can only be resolved through dialogue
- Recent military activity in the south was unilateral, resulting in an escalation that harms the interests of Yemeni people and undermines efforts to address issues in the south, he said
NEW YORK CITY: Any attempt to threaten Saudi Arabia’s national security is a “red line” and will be met with decisive action, the Kingdom’s ambassador to the UN told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Speaking during a meeting of the council to discuss Yemen, Abdulaziz Alwasil said the situation in the south of the country is “a just cause with social and historic dimensions” that can only be resolved through dialogue.
“We stress that any attempt to threaten our national security is a red line, and we will not hesitate to take the necessary actions and steps to address it and neutralize it,” he added.
Alwasil reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s support for Yemeni President Rashad Al-Alimi, the Presidential Leadership Council, and the Yemeni government in their efforts to achieve security, stability, development and peace while preserving national unity.
He said military activity by Southern Transitional Council forces in Hadramout and Al-Mahra on Dec. 2, 2025, was unilateral, did not have the approval of the Presidential Leadership Council, and was not carried out in coordination with the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen.
It had resulted in an unjustified escalation that harmed the interests of the Yemeni people, undermined efforts to address the issues in the south, and ran counter to the coalition’s objectives, Alwasil added.
The Kingdom, working with its coalition partners, the Presidential Leadership Council and the Yemeni government, had moved to contain the situation by dispatching a military force to coordinate arrangements with the Southern Transitional Council in Aden, he said.
The aim was to ensure the return of the southern council’s forces to their previous positions outside of Hadramout and Al-Mahra, and the handover of camps to legitimate government forces and local authorities in line with agreed procedures, Alwasil added.
He expressed regret over the military operations that took place in Hadramout and Al-Mahra, close to Saudi Arabia’s southern border, which he said posed a direct threat to the Kingdom’s national security, as well as the security of Yemen and regional stability. Such steps were extremely dangerous, he added, and contradicted the principles on which the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen had been founded.
Alwasil welcomed a prisoner and detainee exchange agreement signed in Muscat on Dec. 23, which he described as an important humanitarian measure to alleviate suffering and build confidence.
He praised Oman for hosting and sponsoring the consultations and supporting negotiations, and commended the efforts of UN’s special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, the International Committee of the Red Cross and all others that has played a part.
Regarding the political efforts to resolve the crisis, Alwasil said Saudi Arabia welcomed President Al-Alimi’s call for an inclusive conference in Riyadh to bring together all stakeholders to discuss just solutions to the situation in southern Yemen.
Preparations for the conference have begun, he added, in cooperation with the Yemeni government and southern representatives, reflecting the close ties between the two countries and their shared interests in stabilizing Yemen.
He urged all southern stakeholders to participate actively and constructively in the talks, to help find comprehensive and just solutions that meet the legitimate aspirations of the people of southern Yemen.
Alwasil called on all Yemeni forces and stakeholders to cooperate and intensify their efforts to reach a lasting political settlement that would ensure security and stability.
He described the southern issue as “a just cause with social and historic dimensions,” adding that “the only way to address it is through dialogue that leads to a comprehensive political solution” based on nationally and internationally agreed terms of reference.
