Saudi Arabia lifts driving ban on women

Saudi King Salman announced on Tuesday that women would no longer be banned from driving.

On the same day, Riyadh also announced that a ministerial body would be set up to provide advice within 30 days, with the royal order expected to be implemented by 24 June 2018, the BBC reported.

The announcement marked a historic moment for the Gulf Kingdom, which had become the last country in the world which still had such a ban in place.

But as the country's US ambassador confirmed, women would now no longer require male permission to take driving lessons and would be allowed to drive anywhere they liked.

The lifting of the ban was hailed as a watershed event for reform activists, who had been demanding reforms in the Kingdom for quite some time.

In reaction, praise poured in from Saudi Arabia and around the world, with US President Donald Trump stating that it was a "positive step" towards promoting women's rights.

The decision came alongside others recently which were aimed at promoting women's rights, including a decision last week to allow women to enter the national stadium for the first time.

Other measures included allowing women to attend soccer matches and the inclusion of physical education in girls' school curriculum.