Step by Step: Proposed Saudi Law Poised to Let Women Drive Taxis

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is poised to lift a ban that prevents women from driving, and Riyadh is now considering a new law that may allow ladies not just to operate private vehicles but to work as taxi drivers as well.

The Saudi Ministry of Transport has announced that it is debating a proposed law that would allow women to obtain licenses to drive taxis. The matter is being reviewed by special committee tasked with developing new rules and standards related to the lifting of the driving ban for women.

Transport Ministry representative Turki al-Tayimi said that the committee should formulate its stance on this matter within 30 days, Sputnik Arabic reports, citing the newspaper Okaz.

According to al-Tayimi, this legislative measure would make it easier and cheaper for female students and teachers to commute to schools and universities, as per the Kingdom’s laws, unaccompanied women are prohibited from entering a taxi with a male driver.

On September 26 King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud issued a decree that allows women to drive for the first time in Saudi Arabia’s history; the law is expected to come in effect in June 2018.

The discarded driving ban made it difficult for women to commute to work, effectively forcing many families to hire drivers to deal with this issue.