On September 26, Saudi Arabia decided to extend the right to drive to women. This might seem surprising for a couple of reasons.  Why didn’t women have the right to drive in the first place, and why is it really so momentous that women have the right to drive now?

Saudi Arabia’s laws and governmental policies are regularly dictated by Wahabism, which, in brief, says that men can choose what women do. It just so happens that up until now, the Saudi Arabian king decided that women driving would be an affront.  Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world denying women this right.

This is a huge decision when it comes to women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. The ability to operate freely in a major city is often predicated on one’s ability to drive, and previously women in Saudi Arabia were completely reliant on men in order to operate in the Saudi business world. Women often had less disposable income, as women who were sometimes more educated than men would have to employ a personal chauffeur.

This action was carried out as a part of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s Vision 2030 initiative, which aims to bring Saudi Arabia’s social views to a more acceptable modern standard.

Government ministries are to begin preparing for the influx of drivers now, with the actual order to go into effect in 2018.