Saudi Arabia just issued driving licenses to women for the first time ever. Ten women took driving tests today before receiving their licenses after a decades-long ban — the only one of its kind left in the world. The women will be allowed to start driving in the kingdom on June 24.
"Ten Saudi women made history on Monday when they were issued driving licences," said the information ministry's Centre for International Communication, as reported by The Telegraph. "Expectations are that next week an additional 2,000 women will join the ranks of licensed drivers in the kingdom."
On Monday, a video went viral showing the very first woman to get her license. The woman, who already had an international license, is given a Saudi license by General Directorate of Traffic officials, notes Arab News.
And in photos released from the Saudi Information Ministry, some of the women proudly hold their new cards:
The historic change comes just days after Saudi Arabia detained 17 people for "undermining" security — many of them women who campaigned for the right to drive, The Telegraph reports.
Kate Storey is the author of White House by the Sea: A Century of the Kennedys at Hyannis Port and the senior features editor at Rolling Stone. She was previously a staff writer at Esquire, where she covered culture and politics, and has written long-form profiles and narrative features for Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, Town & Country, and other publications.
