Rabat - After Riyadh lifted the ban on women’s driving four months ago, Saber Jelassi, the president of the National Commission for Driving School (ONECT) announced on Tuesday that Tunisian female instructors are being sought after in Saudi Arabia to teach local women to drive.
Rabat – After Riyadh lifted the ban on women’s driving four months ago, Saber Jelassi, the president of the National Commission for Driving School (ONECT) announced on Tuesday that Tunisian female instructors are being sought after in Saudi Arabia to teach local women to drive.
In a statement to the Tunisian radio Mosaique FM, Jelassi cautioned Saudis against certain companies and individuals that could offer suspicious and fraudulent contracts.
Saudi woman will still have to wait six months before they will legally be able to climb behind the wheel, as the measure will only come into effect in June 2018.
The ban, which has been in place for decades, had become the source of much national and international controversy. Saudi women have protested it for years and many had taken to the streets and even been imprisoned for defying what they call a sexist policy.
The Royal Decree was issued in September 2017 lifting the ban on women’s driving in the Saudi kingdom. Three months later, it was confirmed that women will be able to drive motorbikes, vans, and trucks eventually.
The move is part Vision 2030, a vast reform program masterminded by the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Vision 2030 is advancing sweeping social and economic reforms which are generally welcomed both at home and abroad.
However, the Crown Prince’s actions have also been met with derision in some ultra-conservative circles. The lifting of the ban, like all the reforms being made by the Crown Prince, has not been met with universal support in KSA. Sheikh Saad Al Hijiri sparked outrage when he said that women should not be allowed to drive because their brains were smaller than men’s.
