₦airaland Forum

For decades, Saudi Arabia stood out as the only country in the world where women were not allowed to drive. The rule wasn’t written in the country’s constitution, but it was deeply enforced through religious interpretations, cultural traditions, and social norms.

But in June 2018, history was made — and the streets of Saudi Arabia changed forever. Women, for the first time in the nation’s history, took the driver’s seat — literally.

A Ban Rooted in Tradition

For many years, the driving ban symbolized the larger restrictions women faced in Saudi society.

1. Women couldn’t travel without a male guardian’s permission.

2. They couldn’t open a bank account or attend certain public events without male consent.

3. And they certainly couldn’t drive themselves to work or school.

If a woman was seen driving, she could be arrested, fined, or publicly shamed.
This meant that women had to rely on male relatives or hired drivers — costing families time, money, and independence.

The Brave Women Who Spoke Out

The campaign to lift the driving ban wasn’t an overnight decision. It was the result of years of activism by Saudi women who risked their freedom to challenge the system.

One of the earliest was Manal al-Sharif, who in 2011 posted a video of herself driving in Saudi Arabia — an act that went viral and led to her arrest. Her boldness sparked international attention, inspiring other women to join what became known as the “Women2Drive” movement.

These women faced arrests, job loss, harassment, and surveillance, but their courage planted a seed for change.

The Turning Point: 2018

In September 2017, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) announced a royal decree lifting the ban, as part of his Vision 2030 reform plan — an initiative aimed at modernizing Saudi Arabia’s image and economy.

The law officially took effect on June 24, 2018, and the world watched as Saudi women drove freely through the streets for the very first time.

The moment was historic. News outlets showed women laughing, crying, and honking in celebration. Some drove their mothers around; others took their daughters to school — something unimaginable just a few years earlier.

Beyond the Steering Wheel

The change wasn’t just about cars. It was a symbol of freedom and equality, marking a shift in how women were viewed in Saudi society.

Since then:

1. Women can now obtain driver’s licenses without male permission.

2. Many have become ride-hailing app drivers, earning income independently.

3. Driving schools across the country have opened female-only training centers.

A Step Forward, but Not the End

While the lifting of the driving ban was a major milestone, Saudi women still face challenges. Guardianship laws, though relaxed, continue to affect aspects of daily life. Activists who pushed for the reform — including some who celebrated it — were still detained shortly before and after the announcement.

It showed that even progress in Saudi Arabia often comes with complex layers of control and caution.

Within the first year of the ban being lifted, over 120,000 women applied for driver’s licenses, marking one of the fastest social shifts in the country’s history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT-3I5jg1xg?si=5SS-OXK80u_hj6DM

Make sure to like the op and the video so it gets to front-page please.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman is implementing sweeping reforms to reposition Saudi Arabia for the future. The way that man is dropping some entrenched islamic restrictions, it's looking like Northern Nigeria is more Islamic than those who sold them the idea of Islam.

Expanse2020 doffman you should appreciate western ideology that made Saudi Arabia government permitted your women the right to drive

SmartPolician:
Prince Mohammed bin Salman is implementing sweeping reforms to reposition Saudi Arabia for the future. The way that man is dropping some entrenched islamic restrictions, it's looking like Northern Nigeria is more Islamic than those who sold them the idea of Islam.

He's harsh too, but Northern Nigeria would need harsh too.

https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/11/04/high-cost-change/repression-under-saudi-crown-prince-tarnishes-reforms

That said, we have our educating Emir of Kano.

https://www.nairaland.com/8100232/kano-assembly-agrees-amend-law#130071438

https://www.nairaland.com/8102151/sanusi-reinstated-emir-kano-bayero

AntiisIam:
Expanse2020 doffman you should appreciate western ideology that made Saudi Arabia government permitted your women the right to drive

You mean same western people that colonised your people with half bread right ?

doffman:
You mean same western people that colonised your people with half bread right ?

Yes they colonized your greatest upon greatest grandfathers with half bread in which you're able to speak and write in English, you attended their western schools, etc


Tell us wetin Fodio did for you Yoruba Muslims that is more than taking permission from Sokoto before fasting?

doffman:
You mean same western people that colonised your people with half bread right ?

Abi
The same western that shackle his fore father and enslave them

Expanse2020:
Abi
The same western that shackle his fore father and enslave them

Why not speaking fodio's brought language but rather this same western language? Koye eyin mejeeji mo

AntiisIam:
Why not speaking fodio's brought language but rather this same western language? Koye eyin mejeeji mo

The shackle the white man brought is still effective till today.. ...
In all the west, east, south of the Africa

Expanse2020:
The shackle the white man brought is still effective till today.. ...
In all the west, east, south of the Africa

Yes it is effective till tomorrow self as you don't have any choice than to love western ideologies in which you are able to read and write in English, use the same English to make transaction in bank, etc.

Why not make Arabic your official language since you belongs to fodio that made you an er- rand as you must take permission from Sokoto before fasting

AntiisIam:
Yes it is effective till tomorrow self as you don't have any choice than to love western ideologies in which you are able to read and write in English, use the same English to make transaction in bank, etc.

Why not make Arabic your official language since you belongs to fodio that made you an er- rand as you must take permission from Sokoto before fasting

You see
We don't need to tell you how dumb you are since we all know that those who enslaved our forefather still controlling us till today.....

Still in the shackle from the birth of our Nation till today.. even with the name she bear as a Nation...
Western slave that why the enslave mentality is still in everyone body....

AntiisIam:
Yes they colonized your greatest upon greatest grandfathers with half bread in which you're able to speak and write in English, you attended their western schools, etc


Tell us wetin Fodio did for you Yoruba Muslims that is more than taking permission from Sokoto before fasting?

😂 you have not answered my question nah !

Were your fore fathers not colonised ?

Simple question 😂😂

Expanse2020:
Abi
The same western that shackle his fore father and enslave them

Never take that guy serious . He has more than 15 accounts ; he might be in payroll 😂

Just imagine for someone to create 15 emails for accounts aha

doffman:
Never take that guy serious . He has more than 15 accounts ; he might be in payroll 😂

Just imagine for someone to create 15 emails for accounts aha

When you pronounce dem, shey the pronunciation differ?

doffman dofman

Na because you dey block after exposing bring forth those accounts. I must humble you to the core

doffman:
😂 you have not answered my question nah !

Were your fore fathers not colonised ?

Simple question 😂😂

I don answer your question nah

Yes.. not only your forefathers, the whole Nigeria was colonized. It is through this you are able to read and write in English. All thanks to dem

doffman:
Never take that guy serious . He has more than 15 accounts ; he might be in payroll 😂

Just imagine for someone to create 15 emails for accounts aha

Werey nii boy yen Sha 🤣🤣

AntiisIam:
When you pronounce dem, shey the pronunciation differ?

doffman dofman

Na because you dey block after exposing bring forth those accounts. I must humble you to the core

You are dealing yourself and you will have bp las las 😂

No be u wake up in the midnight surfing nairaland 😂

you created 15 gmail for them , yes or no ?

You don cast ahaaaa


No wonder you Dey sleep in nairaland 😂

Antilsiaam:
I don answer your question nah

Yes.. not only your forefathers, the whole Nigeria was colonized. It is through this you are able to read and write in English. All thanks to dem

Good you know your fore fathers were colonized and exchanged your culture with their own culture . No wonder , you do white wedding ahaa.

Who now colonized Saudi like your people ?

dofman:
Good you know your fore fathers were colonized and exchanged your culture with their own culture . No wonder , you do white wedding ahaa.

Who now colonized Saudi like your people ?

Yes your four fathers that happened to be Nigerians were colonized and that is why English is your official language in Nigeria.. O ka e lara

You wan change topic go Saudi abi? No room for that...

Tell us wetin Fodio did for you Yoruba Muslims that is more than taking permission from Sokoto before fasting?

doffman

I can come here anytime, anyday.. I'm not like you wey dey show at break time. Sebi you understand that kind of a thing? To come here at the break time

Antiislaam:
Yes your four fathers that happened to be Nigerians were colonized and that is why English is your official language in Nigeria.. O ka e lara

You wan change topic go Saudi abi? No room for that...

Tell us wetin Fodio did for you Yoruba Muslims that is more than taking permission from Sokoto before fasting?

Since your fore fathers were also colonized why are you now angry nah . 😂😂

Since you are a slave to your colonized master why are you talking about other ? E pain you 😂

dofman:
Since your fore fathers were also colonized why are you now angry nah . 😂😂

Since you are a slave to your colonized master why are you talking about other ? E pain you 😂

Sule, na you dey angry because English is your official language brought by westerners

Colonial masters are no more in Nigeria, when they were in Nigeria, they colonized your greatest grandfathers in which the language you and I is writing with on NL was brought by dem.

Ma binu sogbo that westerners thought us how to speak and write in English and ma binu that the same English is Nigeria official language

Antilsiaam:
doffman

I can come here anytime, anyday.. I'm not like you wey dey show at break time. Sebi you understand that kind of a thing? To come here at the break time

But you sleep here nah ; even midnight you are here .


You will have bp in this forum las las ; we will never miss you oo .

doffman

Dem don free you again, na an hour free time dem dey give you over there in Libya

Antilsiaam:
I don answer your question nah

Yes.. not only your forefathers, the whole Nigeria was colonized. It is through this you are able to read and write in English. All thanks to dem

I am of the theory that Northern Nigeria was colonised by Islamists (as in Muslim people from elsewhere), and they are still colonised now.

P. S. I am neither anti Islam or anti Christian books, though an atheist. I appreciate them both because they are the software of Nigerians, as in, they dictate how we think and reason.

If given the choice, I will make our Holy Book the old and new testament and the Quran, and it will be illegal to publish them separately. I'll however cover my eyes and not prosecute those who do.

I will mandate that schools teach understanding, and not belief in either, just as I wouldn't allow belief to be taught in maths and physics.

And yes. I expect Nigerians to stone and crucify me for so doing, especially since I will announce it in a mosque, or better still, at the Osun Sacred Grove.

We Yorubas (and many other tribes), have many gods, and they live peacefully amongst us until some foreign gods claimed to be the only gods and killed off our gods. But we shouldn't let our peaceful coexistence die too.

Antiislaam:
doffman

Dem don free you again, na an hour free time dem dey give you over there in Libya

😂😂😂 you mean you are in Libya ?

This boy shaaaa. Do you want me to sleep in nairaland as you do ?

I just pity for your life shaaa . You are suffering a lot .