After Saudi Arabia, now Muslim country Iran has also given big relaxation to women. The Shia Muslim-majority country has allowed women to formally obtain a license to drive motorcycles. With this decision of the Khamenei administration, the controversies regarding the law regarding women that had been going on for years have now ended.

Previous legislation in Iran did not explicitly prohibit women from driving motorcycles and scooters, but in practice officials refused to issue licenses. Because of this legal ambiguity, women were held legally responsible for accidents even if they were victims.

Vice President signed signature

According to news agency ILNA, Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Arif on Tuesday signed a resolution aimed at clarifying the traffic code, which was approved by Iran’s Cabinet in late January. According to this, under this proposal it is mandatory for the traffic police to ‘provide practical training to women applicants, conduct an examination under the direct supervision of the police and issue motorcycle driver licenses to women’.

Changes after protests in Iran

The change comes after a wave of protests in Iran, which were initially sparked by economic grievances but turned into nationwide anti-government demonstrations last month. Tehran has acknowledged that more than 3,000 people died during the unrest.

Saudi also gave a lot of relaxation to women

Before Iran, Saudi Arabia has given historic concessions to women under ‘Vision 2030’, which mainly include permission to drive, travel without a male guardian (Mahram), perform Hajj/Umrah and passport/citizenship rights. Apart from this, women have been given relaxation in dress code, freedom to participate in workforce and go to cinema/sports events.