© AFP Photo/FAYEZ NURELDINE
The lifting of the decades-long ban is expected to be transformative for many women
Saudi women celebrated taking the wheel for the first time in decades Sunday as the kingdom overturned the world's only ban on female motorists, a historic reform expected to usher in a new era of social mobility.
The much-trumpeted move is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plan to modernise the conservative petrostate -- but it has been
dented by the jailing of female activists who long opposed the driving ban.
Women in Riyadh and other cities began zipping around streets bathed in amber light soon after the ban was lifted at midnight, with some blasting music from behind the wheel.
"I feel free like a bird," said talk show host and writer Samar Almogren as she cruised across the capital.
Television presenter Sabika al-Dosari called it "a historic moment for every Saudi woman" before driving a sedan across the border to the kingdom of Bahrain.
The lifting of the ban, long a glaring symbol of repression, is expected to be transformative for many women, freeing them from dependence on private chauffeurs or male relatives.
"This is a great achievement," billionaire Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal said as his daughter Reem drove a family SUV, with his granddaughters applauding from the back seat.
"Now women have their freedom," he added in a video posted on Twitter.
Comment: It's difficult not to suspect that Trump derangement syndrome is the primary motive for these protests. How many of these bleeding hearts were protesting against the inhumane conditions and untimely deaths bestowed on innocent children and their families throughout the Middle East by previous administrations? Where were they when 'deporter in chief' Obama was 'taking care of' the immigration problem and caging children?