Saudi scholar says 'yes' to women driving

A well known Saudi Islamic scholar has said he is not opposed to any government decision to allow women to drive cars in the conservative Gulf Kingdom and that he would let his daughters drive.

“I will not oppose any decision allowing women in Saudi Arabia to drive cars,” Sheikh Adel Kalbani said, quoted by Sada newspaper.

“If such a decision is issued by the Saudi government, I don’t mind that my own daughters drive cars,” said the Sheikh, a preacher at the Muhaisn Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Women in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, are now permitted to drive cars because of social and religious barriers.

Female activists and other Saudi women have defied the ban and driven cars in street protests over the past years to press for ending the ban.

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