On Monday, Saudi Arabia began issuing driver’s licenses to female drivers, marking a first for the country.

Women across the country won’t technically be getting behind the wheel in Saudi Arabia until June 24, but so far, 10 women have already received their driver’s licenses, and in a series of pictures, they are proudly showing off their new cards. News that women in Saudi Arabia would finally be allowed to drive in their country came last September, when the ban on female drivers was lifted by royal decree.

https://twitter.com/saudalzmanan/status/1003626848180457472

Now, the right to drive is becoming a reality for these 10 women and all the women who will follow, which the country’s information ministry’s Centre for International Communication has predicted will hit the 2,000 mark by next week, according to The Telegraph.

“Driving to me represents having a choice—the choice of independent movement. Now we have that option,” Rema Jawdat, one of the women who has already received her new Saudi Arabian license, said. The lifting of the ban isn’t just a big moment for the women of Saudi Arabia, but for women across the globe—Saudi Arabia was the only country with a gendered driving ban, meaning women in all countries now have the right to take a driver’s test.

Although this is a landmark moment for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, it does come on the heels of a disappointing human rights moment from the country. Just last week, Saudi Arabian officials detained 17 individuals accused of undermining security, though several were activists who had campaigned for this right for Saudi Arabian women.

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