Saudi's driving ban lifting gets clerical support

Riyadh, Sep 28 : A majority of Saudi Arabia's Council of Senior Ulema religious scholars on Wednesday expressed support for a royal decree allowing the kingdom's women to drive.

The Islamic clerics said that King Salman bin Abdulaziz took the right and proper decision based on the interest of the citizens.

"God save the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques who seeks the interests of his country and his people in light of Islamic Shariah," the Council said on its twitter handle.

According to the clerics, the majority of Council members saw no problem with women driving as long as there were guarantees and laws to maintain the respect and dignity of women, Efe report said.

King Salman on Tuesday paved the way for Kingdom's women to receive driving licenses after increasing demands from women and criticism from human rights groups over the prohibition.

This new decree comes in the context of new reforms that the King has ordered since his accession to the throne in 2015, including more freedom for women to carry out administrative procedures on their own, despite various procedures and activities still requiring the presence of a male guardian.