Victory signs flashed in Saudi Arabia as women were granted the right to drive. Saudi King Salman ordered the reform in a royal decree delivered on Tuesday night that any women who wanted to drive may be granted the driving license.

Activists have been demanding reforms in the fundamentalist kingdom. Saudi ambassador to Washington DC, Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz said that women will no longer need permission from a legal guardian to get a license and will not need a guardian in the car when they drive.

A number of reforms have been initiated in Saudi Arabia which has a rigidly conservative society where citizens have strictly demarcated gender roles and women have very little freedom to lead a social life.

A senior minister commented that a cultural revolution is taking place disguised as economic reform. As part of the reforms, last week, women were allowed into a sports stadium for the first time.

It is a fact pointed by critics that female citizens of Saudi Arabia were the world’s most repressed. Now, gradually the restrictions on women are being eased. Lifting the driving ban on women is a significant reform welcomed by all.

Saudi Arabia’s new Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman believes that allowing women to drive is one of the key reforms as it will bring about higher female participation in the workforce and a breakdown of gender roles.