First Saudi Women Receive Drivers’ Licenses Amid Crackdown
A Saudi woman drives her car along a street in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, on September 27, 2017.
Photographer: Rem Baeshen /AFP via Getty Images
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Saudi Arabia issued its first driver's licenses to 10 women on Monday as the kingdom prepared to lift the world's only ban on women driving in three weeks, but some who campaigned for the right to drive remain under arrest.
A government statement said the 10 women who were issued licenses already held driving licenses from other countries, including the U.S., U.K., Lebanon and Canada. They took a brief driving test and eye exam before being issued the licenses at the General Department of Traffic in the capital, Riyadh. International media were not present for the event.