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

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.

"Preventing a woman from driving a car is today an issue of rights similar to the one that forbade her from receiving an education or having an independent identity," he said. "They are all unjust acts by a traditional society, far more restrictive than what is lawfully allowed by the precepts of religion."

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