SAUDI ARABIA

Women driving in Saudi Arabia to usher in a new era of economic prosperity

Reuters Images/Ahmed Jadallah
Reuters Images/Ahmed Jadallah
Reuters Images/Ahmed Jadallah
Historic move will reduce dependence on foreign drivers and help Saudi families cut expenses
PHOTO
ABHA – Women in Saudi Arabia have been waiting for the green light to hit the roads ever since Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman issued the decision lifting the ban on women driving in the country nine months ago. The authorities have been making hectic preparations for the historic event on June 24 by creating necessary infrastructure and training women security and traffic officers to organize the arrival of female drivers on the Kingdom's roads.

Economists believe women driving will open a new era in the country's history, boosting the Kingdom’s economy with an unprecedented increase in sales of cars and accessories and encouraging more and more Saudi women to take up jobs in the private and public sectors.

Haya Al-Shahrani commended the government’s efforts to train women officers to control traffic, adding that it would contribute to reducing traffic violations and taking care of women who might get involved in road accidents. “All women who have reached the age of 18 can obtain driving licenses according to the new system,” she told Okaz/Saudi Gazette.

“Traffic rules and regulations will apply to both men and women without any discrimination,” she added.

Reem Mohammed highlighted the social and economic benefits of women driving. “The negative aspects of women driving in the Kingdom if any will be short-lived and will disappear with the passage of time when people will be accustomed to female drivers on the road. At the same time new laws are enacted to protect women drivers from harassment,” she explained.

Olya Ali said the government’s decision allowing women to drive on the Kingdom’s roads would reduce dependence on foreign drivers and help Saudi families cut expenses. She believed the departure of foreign drivers would reduce damage to the country’s road network and help the government save billions of riyals on maintenance.

Amal Al-Qahtani spoke about employment benefits of women driving. “Many women do not go for work because of a lack of transport facilities. Now they can drive to work and back without depending on others for transportation. Women employees can travel in taxis run by women drivers, and this will enhance their sense of safety and privacy,” she added.

However, many Saudi women are not ready yet to sit behind the wheel considering the growing number of accidents on the Kingdom's roads caused by male drivers. Some women are waiting for society to get accustomed to women driving before applying for a driving license. Driving schools across the Kingdom are expected to make huge money in the coming days and years, said one expert.

The historic move allowing women to drive on the Kingdom’s roads will open up lots of job opportunities for Saudi women as traffic and security officers. “Women will get jobs at car insurance companies and automobile agencies,” said an economic analyst. The number of cars owned by Saudi families will go up in the coming days,” he added.

The addition of women drivers on the roads will increase consumption of fuel, thus hiking government revenue and the profits of gas stations. Women drivers will use a substantial part of their time for shopping and family visits and this will in turn increase economic activity.

“Thousands of women will apply for driving license and this will increase revenue of the government from issuing such licenses,” the analyst said. “Overall women driving will contribute to social and economic development, enable women to protect their privacy and Islamic values while careful driving by women will reduce accidents,” he added.

© Copyright 2018 The Saudi Gazette. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

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