Saudi Arabia 'ready' to allow women to drive as lifting of ban nears
Riyadh, May 28: The Saudi Interior Ministry has confirmed its readiness to allow women to drive vehicles in the kingdom, starting from June 24 after decades of a ban.
Assistant Minister of Interior for Operation Affairs General Saeed Al-Qahtani confirmed that all women capable of driving cars can do so, according to an Al Arabiya report on Monday.
He also said female drivers would be on par with males in facing penalties and fines in case of traffic violations.
"Those who will drive cars are our daughters, wives and sisters, and it's our duty to remind them of rules and prevent any harm against them," he said, adding that the decision to allow women to drive serves the country.
He highlighted that security checkpoints would be set up to deal with expected changes in traffic after the ban would be lifted, Xinhua news agency reported.
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ordered in September 2017 to allow women to drive cars after decades of restricting driving only to male citizens and residents.
The order was one of the major steps Saudi Arabia has taken to change the society in general and promote the foundations for a strong economy in particular.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
