Influential Saudi prince says it's 'high time' women be allowed to drive

A Saudi woman exits a car in Riyadh.
(Image credit: Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images)

In order to further women's rights and help his country's economy, a Saudi prince is calling on the kingdom to lift its ban on women driving cars.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal does not have any political position in the country, but is a billionaire investor and chairman of the Kingdom Holding Company, which owns stakes in Citigroup, Disney, Twitter, and Apple. In Saudi Arabia, only men are granted driver's licenses, and the prince said it's "high time" that women start driving vehicles. Not only is Saudi Arabia the only country in the world where women aren't allowed to drive, but the prince argues that the average family has to spend $1,000 a month on a driver, which is money that could instead boost the economy.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.