Historic drive by Saudi woman as driving ban is lifted
Saudi woman racer Aseel Al Hamad commemorates the reversal of the ban on female drivers with a lap of honour in her home country Saudi Arabia. We live in a diverse world, which means that life is not the same everywhere.
By Jared Solomon
Saudi woman racer Aseel Al Hamad commemorates the reversal of the ban on female drivers with a lap of honour in her home country Saudi Arabia.
We live in a diverse world, which means that life is not the same everywhere. We might be living in a modern world in 2018, but unfortunately up until last week, Saudi women were not allowed to drive by law. However, thanks to the laxing of their laws, the Saudi government has now decided to lift the ban on women driving, which is a huge step for the women of that country.
To celebrate this new change, Saudi woman racer Aseel Al Hamad did a lap of honour in her home country. Aseel, the first female board member of the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation, has driven all over the world. She loves fast cars and the thrill of the race track but never on a track in her home country before. Aseel joined Jaguar in a call for June 24th to be known as World Driving Day – a day when finally, the whole world can enjoy the thrill of being behind the wheel of a car.
Some women also drove through the still-packed streets of the capital, on early Sunday, while others drove in convoys around Riyadh neighbourhood in celebration of the ban’s end.
Aseel said, ‘Having loved cars since I was a child, today is highly emotional for me. This is the best driving moment of my life. What better way to kick off World Driving Day than a lap of honour in my home country in a Jaguar F-TYPE – the ultimate car to roar around the track. I hope people around the world will share in our joy today by sharing their most memorable driving story using #WorldDrivingDay.’
We would like to take this special moment to congratulate the women of Saudi Arabia and thank their current government for taking the right steps to ensure that their woman have equal rights and can enjoy the thrill of driving just as men have done so in their country. This is a historic moment of their country, and we hope that the women of Saudi Arabia and all other countries will continue to gain equal rights and opportunities.
