Saudi Arabia lifts ban on women drivers

Saudi Arabia will allow women to drive beginning in June of next year, the kingdom announced Tuesday. The extremely conservative country, which is ruled according to Shariah law, has justified its ban on religious grounds for years.

To get around, Saudi women have relied on private cabs or Uber, which can get costly and discourage them from taking a job that requires expensive travel to get to work, The New York Times reports.

The kingdom's decision comes as Saudi Arabia is trying to change its reputation abroad, but making the switch will not be easy: "The kingdom has no infrastructure for women to learn to drive or to obtain drivers licenses," The New York Times writes. "The police will need to be trained to interact with women in a way that they rarely do in a society where men and women who are not related rarely interact."

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