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A Saudi woman celebrates as she drives her car in her neighborhood, in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia on June 24, 2018. Saudi Arabia had a blanket ban on women driving, with those caught behind the wheel detained. The strict rules in the Islamic country were enforced despite neither Islamic or Saudi law explicitly prohibiting women from driving. The ban had the backing of powerful ultraconservative clerics who argued such acts would corrupt society and lead to sin. One cleric even claiming getting behind the wheel could damage women's ovaries and damage fertility. For decades women drivers have faced arrest and harassment with several high profile protests. In 1990 a major protest saw 50 women drivers travel through the streets of the country's capital, Riyadh. They were arrested and lost their passports and jobs. In 2011 a woman was sentenced to 10 lashes for driving - although the late King Abdullah overturned the sentence. A royal order in 2017 decreed that both women and men should be issued driving licences. The change came into force in June 2018. (Photo by Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters)
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