Saudi Arabian university to open first women driving school in Riyadh

Saudi Arabia's Princess Nourah University will open a driving school for women after a ban was lifted on women driving in the country.

The women's university said that it would establish a driving school for women in cooperation with the relevant authorities, reports local media.

Saudi Arabia, which was the only country in the world to forbid female drivers, recently allowed women to drive.

In a post on Twitter, the official account of the kingdom's Foreign Ministry wrote, "Saudi Arabia allows women to drive."

"Saudi Arabia's King Salman has issued a historic royal decree granting driving licenses for women in the kingdom," the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news channel reported.

Campaigners had earlier, for many years, argued that women should be allowed to drive, saying that "it makes virtual prisoners out of women, who do not have a male family member or chauffeur to drive them around."

The movement gained prominence with the rise in power of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a 32-year-old son of the king, who laid out a far-reaching plan to reform the kingdom's economy and society.