Saudi women earn right to drive, but convincing society a long drive away

Prince Mohammed has opened cinemas, loosened gender segregation, curbed the powers of the religious police

Saudi Arabia’s monarch may have opened the door for Saudi women like Shahd to start driving, but she still needs to sneak out of the house to take lessons.
 

The 26-year-old business student knows she’s in for a battle to convince her parents because in their community, some would find it shameful to see a woman behind the wheel. Once she gets a licence, she’ll stow it in a drawer until she musters up the courage to ask.
 

“I’ll have to be accommodating to the whole society,” Shahd said in a cafe in her hometown of Buraidah in central Saudi