New York, NY, September 26, 2017 -- The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today reacted to the decision by King Salman of Saudi Arabia to issue a royal decree authorizing women to start driving in June 2018, ending a longstanding ban on female drivers in the kingdom.
Sharon Nazarian, ADL Senior Vice President of International Affairs, issued the following statement:
We are encouraged by the news that King Salman of Saudi Arabia has issued a royal decree authorizing women to drive starting in June 2018, ending a longstanding discriminatory policy that has held back women in the kingdom.
While Saudi women continue to face systematic constraints as a result of the kingdom’s discriminatory male guardianship system, today’s announcement is an important step in the right direction.
We hope that the king’s decree will also be followed by other concrete steps to end discrimination and state-enabled incitement targeting other vulnerable communities, including adherents of other religions.
The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. Today it is the world’s leading organization combating anti-Semitism, exposing hate groups, training law enforcement on hate crimes, developing anti-bias curricula for students, countering cyber-hate and relentlessly pursuing equal rights for all.