Saudi Arabia allowed women to drive from today, overturning the world's only ban on female motorists, a historic reform that is expected to usher in a new era of social mobility.
The lifting of the ban, which follows a sweeping crackdown on women activists, is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's reform drive to modernise the conservative petrostate.
Potentially thousands of female drivers are set to take the wheel as the desert kingdom ends the decades-old ban, long a glaring symbol of repression against women.
"It is a historic moment for every Saudi woman," Sabika al-Dosari, a Saudi television presenter who drove minutes after the ban was lifted in the eastern city of Al-Khobar, told AFP.
The move is expected to be transformative for many women, freeing them from their dependence on private chauffeurs or male relatives and resulting in big family savings.
"Those days of waiting long hours for a driver are over," Hatoun bin Dakhil, a 21-year-old pharmacy student, told AFP.
"We no longer need a man."
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