沙特首次允許女性開車

Saudi Arabia will allow women to drive for the first time, according to a royal decree.

State media said Tuesday the king's decree called for the “issuance of driving licenses for men and women alike."

Prince Khaled bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington and the king's son, said letting women drive is a "huge step forward,'' one for which "society is ready.''

"This is the right time to do the right thing,'' he told reporters in the U.S.

Neither Islamic law nor Saudi traffic law explicitly prohibited women from driving in the past, but they were not issued licenses and were detained if they attempted to drive.

The state news agency SPA reported the order will go into effect by June 2018.

Amnesty International said the decree was a "testament to the bravery of women activists who have been campaigning for years [and] the government of Saudi Arabia has finally relented."

U.S. President Donald Trump commended Saudi Arabia for the decision and said the United States will support Saudi efforts to strengthen its society and economy.

"This is a positive step toward promoting the rights and opportunities of women in Saudi Arabia," said a statement from his press secretary.

In celebration of the announcement, several Saudi women posted images on social media showing them deleting ride-sharing apps from their mobile phones.沙特阿拉伯頒佈皇家法令，首次允許女性開車。

沙特官方媒體星期二說，國王的法令要求，“不論男女，都要發放駕照。”

沙特駐華盛頓大使哈立德王子說，允許女性開車“是前進的一大步”，“沙特社會已經爲此做好了準備。”

他在美國告訴記者說：“這是在正確的時間做了正確的事情。”

不論是伊斯蘭律法還是沙特交通法規都不曾明令禁止女性開車，但是沙特以前是不向女性發放駕駛執照的，被發現開車的女性，會遭到拘留。

沙特通訊社說，這項法令2018年6月開始生效。

國際特赦組織說：這項法令“是多年來女權活動人士勇敢的見證，沙特政府終於讓步了。”

美國總統川普對沙特的決定表示讚揚，並表示，美國會支持沙特繼續健全社會和經濟。川普的新聞祕書發表聲明說：“這是推動沙特女性享有的權利和機會的積極進展。”

爲慶祝法令的頒佈，一些沙特女性在社交媒體上發圖片，顯示她們正在刪除手機上拼車的應用。