We here at ejarcar.com love to drive, and today we wanted to share the great news that women in Saudi Arabia will soon be allowed to get a driving licence!

Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday, 26 September, that it would allow women to drive. The change, which will take effect in June 2018, and was announced in a royal decree read live on state television. The decision highlights the damage that the ban on women driving has done to the Kingdom’s International reputation and it hopes for a public relations benefit from the reform.

Saudi leaders also hope the new policy will help the economy by increasing women’s participation in the workplace. Many working Saudi women spend most of their salaries on drivers or must be driven to work by male relatives.

In April 2013, Saudi billionaire Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal ignited the debate by tweeting in favour of allowing women to drive.

“Allowing women to drive will result in saving at least 500,000 jobs held by foreign drivers and subsequent economic and social benefits for the nation,” Al Waleed posted.

The United States welcomed Saudi Arabia’s announcement. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the US was “happy” with the move. Nauert called it “a great step in the right direction for that country.”

An hour after the official announcement in Saudi Arabia, a jubilant Saudi ambassador to Washington, Prince Khalid Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, said it was “an historic and big day in our kingdom”.

“I think our leadership understands that our society is ready. I think it’s the right decision at the right time,” the ambassador said.

Prince Khalid, the ambassador, said women would not need permission from their guardians to get a license or have a guardian in the car and would be allowed to drive anywhere in the kingdom, including the Islamic holy cities of Makkah and Medina.

For more than 25 years, women activists have campaigned to be allowed to drive, defiantly taking to the road, petitioning the king and posting videos of themselves behind the wheel on social media.

“Congratulations to all the women who will finally have the right to drive a car in Saudi. We see this is as a massive opportunity for ejarcar.com. We have plans to open offices in Saudi Arabia hopefully by next year, and this announcement has just doubled our potential client base. Millions of new women drivers will soon be looking to rent and lease cars in the coming months and we are confident that ejarcar will be able to cater to that growing demand.” – Siddharth Varerkar – CEO and founder ejarcar.com

Source – NYtimes, Gulf News, Reuters

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