Saudi king decrees women be allowed to drive


RIYADH/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saudi King Salman on Tuesday ordered that women be allowed to drive cars, ending a conservative tradition seen by rights activists as an emblem of the Islamic kingdom's repression of women.

The kingdom, the birthplace of Islam, has been widely criticised for being the only country in the world that bans women from driving, despite gradual improvement on some women's issues in recent years and ambitious government targets to increase their public role, especially in the workforce.

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