From June this year, women in Saudi Arabia will be legally allowed to drive. However, Saudi women on Twitter have been sharing images that show it costs women up to six times more than men to take driving lessons.
Women with some experience of being on a road - those with husbands or male relatives who have taken them out - are required to undertake 30 hours of training, while those with no experience must complete 90 hours.
With the average price for an hour of driving practice costing 60-75 riyals, this equates to a £1,000 price tag for women without experience to qualify for a license. In comparison, it costs less than £100 for a Saudi man to qualify.
Hanaa Aldhafery, a 32-year-old Saudi woman, launched the hashtag #مستعده_ادرب (which translates to #iam_ready_to_train_you) when she tweeted: "Are there any volunteers who are ready to train others to drive for free? (And the training will be after Ramadan because we don’t want any trouble with the law and the training will be in parking lots away from crowded places) If the answer is yes write the name of your city in the #مستعده_ادرب"
Taking Aldhafery's lead, under the hashtag both women and men who know how to drive began offering to teach women.
"Training in Al Qasim provided if the trainee can provide the car," one woman replied in Arabic. Another Twitter user offered to lend his car to up to five women who couldn't afford to rent a vehicle so that they could learn.
"I started the hashtag because I want to help other girls learn how to drive perfectly," Aldhafery told ELLE.com through a translator. "Because if a girl went to a driving training center without experience they will charge her more."
"I'm ready to train in Riyadh," one woman tweeted. "With moral support for every girl who feels intimidated by driving or has any kind of phobia from driving in the streets. We help and we support. No for exploitation and no waiting lists."
