Dubai: When Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday that women would be allowed to drive from June 2018, people’s fist reaction was to celebrate a momentous victory for women’s rights.
But beneath that celebration, there lies another cause for happiness: Women being able to get behind the wheel may kickstart economic activity in Saudi in a big way.
On today’s podcast, we discuss the news, and look at its implications for women in the workforce, efficiency, car sales, insurance, and Uber and Careem, among other things.
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We discuss all the ways that this announcement might benefit Saudi Arabia, not least to mention improve its image internationally, and precipitate some goodwill towards the conservative kingdom.