Balance of Power: Women Take the Wheel as Saudis Look to Future

The architect of Saudi Arabia’s modernization effort has implemented one of his boldest moves yet: Ending the country’s status as the only one in the world that bans women from driving.

There’s little doubt Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is behind the decision to get women behind the wheel. What’s less clear is how the cultural bomb will be received by a society that’s always had curbs on women and practices an austere version of Islam. Both cheers and jeers were heard in the streets of Riyadh last night.