Saudi women celebrate end of ban: Habibti, you can drive my car

Sabika Habib drives through the streets of Khobar City. Pic/AFP

Saudi women celebrated taking the wheel for the first time in decades yesterday as the kingdom overturned the world's only ban on female motorists.

The much-trumpeted move is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plan to modernise the conservative state - 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.

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.

Euphoria was mixed with disbelief as women across the kingdom flooded social media with videos of their maiden car rides, with a heavy presence of policemen, some of whom distributed flowers to the first-time drivers.