Saudi deputy crown prince backs women driving

Despite his eagerness to work towards more freedom for women, the prince says the process will take time

Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salman has indicated that he wants to lend more support to the cause of women empowerment in his country.

“We believe women have certain rights in Islam that they are yet to obtain,” he said in an interview on Thursday.



The prince said he had no problem with the notion of women driving in the kingdom. In fact, he expressed having problems with those who distorted religion to suppress legitimate rights granted to them in Islam.

However, despite announcing his eagerness to invest in efforts towards more freedom for women, the prince said the process will take time. “I just want to remind the world that American women had to wait a long time to get their right to vote. So we need time.”



Prince Mohammed acknowledged their importance and the position women held in Saudi society, “We look at citizens in general and women are half of this society. We want it to be a productive half.”

Many took to Twitter to welcome the efforts of the prince.

More good news on women driving in Saudi Arabia! https://t.co/dHyH1jMdba https://t.co/o7CgDSzhkt

— Laura Alho (@blueabaya) April 23, 2016

#Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman: “We believe women have rights in Islam that they’ve yet to obtain”https://t.co/AuRCpb1dyb

— Fahad Nazer فهد ناظر (@fanazer) April 21, 2016

Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, says he's for allowing Saudi women to drive https://t.co/zhlkoCrW8S

— Mohamad Bazzi (@BazziNYU) April 23, 2016

This story originally appeared on Arab News