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Optimism Prevails as Countdown Begins for End of Saudi Women Driving Ban

The driving ban against Saudi women ends at midnight on Saturday. (Reuters)
The driving ban against Saudi women ends at midnight on Saturday. (Reuters)
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Optimism Prevails as Countdown Begins for End of Saudi Women Driving Ban

The driving ban against Saudi women ends at midnight on Saturday. (Reuters)
The driving ban against Saudi women ends at midnight on Saturday. (Reuters)

Nine month after Custodian of the Holy Mosques King Salman’s royal decree to allow females in Saudi Arabia to drive, women were highly anticipating the possibility to exercise their right to get behind the wheel as soon as the ban ends at midnight on Saturday.

The past months have witnessed a race against time throughout the Kingdom to prepare driving schools, train female car accident inspectors and raise awareness through various campaigns.

On social media, official authorities, including the General Prosecution, warned against abusing the end of the ban by illicitly taking photographs of the drivers and infringing on their privacy. Punishments against violators include fines and jail terms.

Aside from these concerns, Saudis from all walks of life launched a social media campaign welcoming women to the driving field.

General Director of the Traffic Directorate Mohammed al-Bassami told Asharq Al-Awsat that traffic police were prepared to implement the new driving law, hailing the positive spirit towards women and the end of the ban.

“One only needs to take a quick glance at social media to realize the degree of growing awareness in society in regards to preserving order and paving the way for women to drive for the first time in their lives without any hindrances,” he remarked.

He revealed that the first batch of female car accident inspectors, a total of 40, graduated from the private insurance company Najm only two days ago. Others will follow.

“We are optimistic and as everyone knows, the rules that apply to men will apply to women when it comes to traffic violations and others, as stipulated in the royal decree,” Bassami stressed.

The exact number of women who have obtained their driving license has not been disclosed. The figure is changing on a daily basis, said Bassami.

“Thousands of licenses have been issued and thousands of international licenses have been replaced with local ones,” he explained.

Women were taught how to drive at schools that adhere to the highest international standards. “We are confident that the new drivers would have earned their license and are ready to get behind the wheel,” he added.

“Women make up half of Saudi society and they play a pioneering role in all fields … so ultimately their entry to the driving field will have a positive impact on the Kingdom,” stressed Bassami.

Asharq Al-Awsat spoke with a number of Saudi women ahead of the end of the driving ban, all of whom expressed their excitement at the prospect of being able to freely drive themselves around the Kingdom.

Head of the Businesswomen Center at the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry Hind Al-Zahid told Asharq Al-Awsat that end of the driving ban paves the way for a historic and pivotal stage in Saudi history.

She interpreted the end of the ban as a decision that backs women as serious partners in economic development.

“I am very happy and optimistic over the economic impact that will emerge from this decision,” she stated. The most important result is the freedom of mobility, which will allow women to drive themselves to work and therefore open up new job opportunities for them.

Asked if she will begin driving on Sunday, Zahid replied: “Yes, I will happily drive myself to work. As a mother, I will be able to drive my children to school and perform other tasks with great ease without having to rely on others.”

Renowned Saudi jewelry designer and businesswoman Dana al-Alami described the end of the driving ban as “historic”.

She revealed that she will begin driving in the Kingdom as soon as she returns from a trip to the United Arab Emirates.

“Congratulations to us all. Education for women was introduced during the reign of King Faisal. They were allowed to join the Shura Council under the reign of King Abdullah and now, under King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the empowerment of women continues,” she said.

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Climate Change Imperils Drought-Stricken Morocco’s Cereal Farmers and Its Food Supply

A farmer works in a wheat field on the outskirts of Kenitra, Morocco, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP)
A farmer works in a wheat field on the outskirts of Kenitra, Morocco, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP)
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Climate Change Imperils Drought-Stricken Morocco’s Cereal Farmers and Its Food Supply

A farmer works in a wheat field on the outskirts of Kenitra, Morocco, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP)
A farmer works in a wheat field on the outskirts of Kenitra, Morocco, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP)

Golden fields of wheat no longer produce the bounty they once did in Morocco. A six-year drought has imperiled the country's entire agriculture sector, including farmers who grow cereals and grains used to feed humans and livestock.

The North African nation projects this year's harvest will be smaller than last year in both volume and acreage, putting farmers out of work and requiring more imports and government subsidies to prevent the price of staples like flour from rising for everyday consumers.

"In the past, we used to have a bounty — a lot of wheat. But during the last seven or eight years, the harvest has been very low because of the drought," said Al Housni Belhoussni, a small-scale farmer who has long tilled fields outside of the city of Kenitra.

Belhoussni's plight is familiar to grain farmers throughout the world confronting a hotter and drier future. Climate change is imperiling the food supply and shrinking the annual yields of cereals that dominate diets around the world — wheat, rice, maize and barley.

In North Africa, among the regions thought of as most vulnerable to climate change, delays to annual rains and inconsistent weather patterns have pushed the growing season later in the year and made planning difficult for farmers.

In Morocco, where cereals account for most of the farmed land and agriculture employs the majority of workers in rural regions, the drought is wreaking havoc and touching off major changes that will transform the makeup of the economy. It has forced some to leave their fields fallow. It has also made the areas they do elect to cultivate less productive, producing far fewer sacks of wheat to sell than they once did.

In response, the government has announced restrictions on water use in urban areas — including on public baths and car washes — and in rural ones, where water going to farms has been rationed.

"The late rains during the autumn season affected the agriculture campaign. This year, only the spring rains, especially during the month of March, managed to rescue the crops," said Abdelkrim Naaman, the chairman of Nalsya. The organization has advised farmers on seeding, irrigation and drought mitigation as less rain falls and less water flows through Morocco's rivers.

The Agriculture Ministry estimates that this year's wheat harvest will yield roughly 3.4 million tons (3.1 billion kilograms), far less than last year's 6.1 million tons (5.5 billion kilograms) — a yield that was still considered low. The amount of land seeded has dramatically shrunk as well, from 14,170 square miles (36,700 square kilometers) to 9,540 square miles (24,700 square kilometers).

Such a drop constitutes a crisis, said Driss Aissaoui, an analyst and former member of the Moroccan Ministry for Agriculture.

"When we say crisis, this means that you have to import more," he said. "We are in a country where drought has become a structural issue."

Leaning more on imports means the government will have to continue subsidizing prices to ensure households and livestock farmers can afford dietary staples for their families and flocks, said Rachid Benali, the chairman of the farming lobby COMADER.

The country imported nearly 2.5 million tons of common wheat between January and June. However, such a solution may have an expiration date, particularly because Morocco's primary source of wheat, France, is facing shrinking harvests as well.

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization ranked Morocco as the world's sixth-largest wheat importer this year, between Türkiye and Bangladesh, which both have much bigger populations.

"Morocco has known droughts like this and in some cases known droughts that las longer than 10 years. But the problem, this time especially, is climate change," Benali said.