A great deed has been made. Saudi Arabia, recently, is slowly lifting off the restrictions that they had on women’s complications with driving.

On Tuesday, it was said that the royal decree associating with the issue of women driving will finally allow women in the country drive, which Saudi Foreign ministry tweeted. The ruling is to be applied and in 30 days it should present recommendations. Then the government will have until June 24, 2018, to implement the new decree.

Thoughts on Change?

The thoughts on this outstanding change seem to be majorly positive, though I think everyone is in agreeance with the gender role change. However, a few believe that the change for women is a great thing, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres agrees as he tweeted that the decree is “an important step in the right direction” and one of Eastvale resident’s seem to support the movement as they contribute that “it is great to see a change in gender roles in a foreign country” and “as well as a move to equality itself”.

Prince Khaled Bin Salman’s Comments

Saudi Arabia’s ambassador, Prince Khaled bin Salman, has a few comments such as he stated on September 26, that the delivery of the decree “is a historic big day in our kingdom. He further contributes that “there is no wrong time to do the right thing,” when asked why have the announcement been made now. He also, insisted that it isn’t issues upon religion or culture as in his grandfather’s time women were allowed the use of transportation. However, he reassures that women will not have to rest on male validation for driving lessons. Women are not required to drive, but they have the option open to them, so if they would like to drive, they can, Ambassador supports this as he states “It’s not ‘women must drive,’ it’s ‘women can drive.’ Ambassador bin Salman adds that this decree can not be stopped, not even legally, but there may be social issues’; this is the process of his “Vision 2030” that will be the advocate for the brighter future.

Women in the Work Force

When it comes to women and the work force there are so many complications with women’s ability to work. However the ambassador is “trying to increase women’s participation in the workforce”. But, to do that bin Salman,-son of the current king and a brother of the crown prince-, replies that “women would need to be able to drive from work, [so they can] move forward”and “improve our economy”. Also, the pillars, such as youth empowerment, social organization, and women’s empowerment is the rest for the country’s economic reinvention, which is a big progress for the future of Saudi Arabia.

While some people may be excited for the change that is to come, others may not be as gleeful as The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is said to have a strict form of Wahhabi Islam, which bans association of women and male mingling in public events.

Leading Up to this Movement

Before this royal decree, in May women needed a male guardian’s permission or presence to be able to access government services. However, May was also a victory for women in Saudi as King Salman ordered that government agencies should list the jobs women could take on with out the need of male influence. On September 23, women gained the ability to enter a sports stadium for a special pageant for the first time ever, this gave the example of the royal families development of soon releasing restrictions on driving for women.

This fight for the right to drive has been going on for a while, as far as 2013, as some women retaliated by defying the restriction of driving by driving anyway.