RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s largely state-linked media is responding positively to King Salman’s decision to allow women to drive beginning next summer.
The English-language newspaper Arab News had a banner headline reading: “hashtagSaudiWomenCanDrive.”
The newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Faisal J. Abbas, wrote in a front-page editorial that “much can be said in criticism of the illogical ban and the extremely long time it took to reverse it.
Abbas added: “This is, however, certainly a case of ‘better late than never;’ and we should not for a single moment underestimate the significance of this bold move by Riyadh.”
The headline on the state-linked Arabic newspaper Okaz noted that “In the era of King Salman, women can drive.”
The kingdom is the only country in the world that bars women from driving.