Saudi women to be granted driving rights in 2018

After nearly three decades, women will be allowed to drive beginning next summer. The step toward expanded women’s rights is seen as another effort by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to modernize the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia’s surprise decision to grant women the right to drive in the conservative kingdom marks a significant expansion in women’s rights, but activists said Wednesday it is also only the first step in a long list of demands for equality.

Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world to ban women from driving, and nearly three decades ago women first began agitating for the right to drive, at times facing arrest for their protests and for getting behind the wheel….

More From Christian Science Monitor: