The Nobel Peace Prize laureate congratulated Saudi women on the royal decree allowing them to drive cars, considering the lifting of the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia as a fall of religious fatwas manipulated in favor of the region’s dictators and their illegal objectives.

The lifting of the ban on women driving issued last September by order of Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz came into force today. 

"For a whole century, Saudi women have been deprived of driving because of a religious fatwa and a supporting law that criminalize female driving in the monarchy," said Mrs. Karman in a statement posted on Facebook.

She pointed out that every fatwa that denies rights and freedoms is null and void and a kind of inventing a lie against God.

Karman indicated that the manipulation of fatwas is not limited to Saudi Arabia, but extends to the vast majority of Arab and Islamic countries.

This important shift comes as part of a series of sweeping social and economic reforms known as Vision 2030 adopted by Saudi Arabia’s young Saudi Crown Prince. 

The end of the driving ban will allow many more women to join the workforce, a key goal for the Crown Prince. Until now, many Saudi women have had to employ male drivers, something that eats into their salaries and is prohibitive for some.