Officials have said three months after the kingdom announced a historic decision to end a ban on women driving Saudi Arabian women now will be able to drive trucks and motorcycles.
In September, King Salman issued a decree saying women will be able to drive from next June as part of an ambitious reform push in the conservative kingdom. The Saudi General Directorate of Traffic gave details of the new regulations that will follow the lifting of the ban on the official Saudi Press Agency late on Friday.
“Yes, we will authorize women to drive motorcycles” as well as trucks, it said, adding that the royal decree stipulates that the law on driving will be “equal” for both men and women.
There will be no special license plate numbers for women-driven cars, it said. But women involved in road accidents or who commit traffic violations will be dealt with at special centers that will be established and run by women.
Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world to impose a ban on women driving and its maintenance was seen around the world as a symbol of repression in the Gulf kingdom.
Its historic decision to allow women to drive from next June has been cheered inside the kingdom and abroad and comes after decades of resistance from women activists, many of whom were jailed for flouting the ban.
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