Jun 25, 2018

Go deeper: Photos of women legally driving in Saudi Arabia

Marisa Fernandez

Saudi Samar Almogren is seen in her car's rear-view mirror as she drives through Riyadh city's streets for the first time. (FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images)

After the world's only ban on female motorists was lifted Sunday morning, women in Saudi Arabia who already have their licenses sat in the driver's seat for the first time.

The big picture via the BBC: "However, the move comes amid an intensified crackdown on activists who campaigned for the right to drive."

Here are some of the photos from the midnight drive:

Nariman El-Mofty/AP

Mabkhoutah al-Mari drives to work for the first time in Riyadh: "between a feeling of joy and astonishment."

(HUSSAIN RADWAN/AFP/Getty Images)

A Saudi woman and her friends celebrate her first time driving on a main street of Khobar City on her way to Kingdom of Bahrain.

(Photo by Ayman Yaqoob/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

A Saudi woman drives a car as she passes through the King Fahd Causeway.

(Photo by Gehad Hamdy/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Ammar Akelah, looks at his wife Walaa Abou Najem, as she drives her car for the first time through the capital's streets, at the first minutes of Sunday.

(HUSSAIN RADWAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Saudi woman Sabika Habib drives her car through the streets of Khobar City on her way to Kingdom of Bahrain.

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