Saudi women eager to hit the road after decades-old driving ban

Nouf Alotaibi meanders through rows of shiny new cars, inspecting each one as a salesman escorting her and her family through the dealership in Saudi Arabia amicably answers questions. Alotaibi has reason to be thorough: This will be her first car, as Saudi Arabia next month will begin allowing women to drive for the first time in the conservative Persian Gulf monarchy's history.
"I am eagerly waiting for the day when women are allowed to drive," Alotaibi tells dpa.
"I have come with my family to buy my future car," she adds while touring the store in the capital, Riyadh.
Alotaibi knows what she wants; the 25-year-old is after a car that would meet her needs as an engineer.
She settles on a Ford and places a down payment.
In September, Saudi King Salman rescinded a long-standing ban on women driving in the country, with his favourite son, Crown Prince Mohammed, believed to be behind the move.
Mohammad bin Salman has recently been pressing ahead with wide-ranging social and economic reforms aimed at modernizing the kingdom.
Even as recently as 2013, a Saudi Muslim cleric said that driving could cause damage to women's ovaries and that they risk having children born with health problems if they drive.
But things have slowly been changing: In 2015, Saudi women were allowed to vote and run as candidates in municipal elections for the first time.
And in April, Saudi Arabia opened its first commercial movie theatre in more than three decades.
Another step towards a more modern Saudi society will start June 24, when the ban on women driving will be no more, and any woman older than age 18 can apply for a licence.
In response to increasing demand from women interested in driving, car dealerships in Saudi Arabia have recruited the services of female driving teachers.
Shaimaa al-Fadl, a 31-year-old driving instructor with a licence from Egypt, sees a "green light" for Saudi female drivers to come out of hiding.
"Many Saudi girls secretly drive cars inside private residential communities," she says.
Alotaibi herself says she used to secretly dress as a man and practice driving in streets near her house, risking arrest and a fine.
However, she has other concerns for the days after June 24. "Harassment and crowdedness are the main concerns for girls when they drive," she says.
After announcing the lifting of the ban, King Salman also ordered a new law for combating harassment, though it has not been issued yet.
"I am sure that the traffic police will intensively deploy on roads to prevent any harassment, especially on the first days of women driving," Alotaibi says.
Shaimaa al-Fadl agrees with Alotaibi's concerns, saying the main concern is harassment from young men and traffic congestion, a hurdle for new drivers used to navigating only quiet residential streets.
For Riyadh resident Heya, 28, the decision to allow women to drive could mean a little extra cash: "I am thinking of making an additional income by driving my workmates who fear driving." Heya, who declined to be fully named, is also visiting the auto showroom in Riyadh to find a car.
As part of the impending change, owners of auto stores in Riyadh are also becoming more familiar with what women look for in cars.
"Women are not attracted to Hummers or four-by-four vehicles," says Bassel Assad, a sales manager at a dealership in Riyadh.
"They prefer saloons in traditional colours." And the jokes inevitably spreading online about women not being able to drive? Alotaibi doesn't take them to heart: "The kingdom already has one of the highest rates of road accidents in the world - and that's before we hit the road," she says.