這個不準女性開車的國家，終于要有女司機啦！

沙特阿拉伯日前頒布國王令，首次允許該國女性駕車。相關部門正在起草文件，預計于2018年6月起實施。

The country's US ambassador, Prince Khaled bin Salman, said it was "an historic and big day" and "the right decision at the right time".

沙特駐美大使哈立德•本•薩勒曼王子稱這是“歷史性的大日子”，是“正確時機做出的正確決定”。

Prince Khaled bin Salman

He confirmed that women will not have to get permission from their male guardians to take driving lessons, and would be able to drive anywhere they liked.

他證實，女性不必得到男性監(jiān)護人的許可就能上駕駛課，并且可以開車到任何她們想去的地方。

The move was welcomed by the US state department, which called it "a great step in the right direction".

美國國務院對此舉表示歡迎，稱“沙特向正確方向邁進了一大步”。

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres echoed that sentiment.

聯(lián)合國秘書長安東尼奧·古特雷斯也贊同這一觀點。

不少沙特女性得知這一消息后已經難掩興奮，想要體驗一把駕車兜風的快感。

沙特是世界上唯一一個禁止女性開車的國家。1957年，該國首都利雅得市頒布了禁止女性開車的法令。

Under the current system, only men are allowed driving licenses and women who drive in public risk being arrested and fined.

在現行制度下，只有男性才能獲得駕駛執(zhí)照，而在公共場所開車的婦女會被逮捕并被處以罰款。

Because of the law, many families have had to employ private drivers to help transport female relatives.

由于這樣的法律規(guī)定，許多家庭不得不雇用私人司機幫助接送女性親屬。

多年來，沙特的權益組織一直在爭取女性開車的權利，一些人因為違抗規(guī)定而被監(jiān)禁。如今，經過漫長的維權斗爭，沙特女性終于如愿以償。

Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul, who was detained for 73 days in 2017 for flouting the ban, tweeted "thank God" following the announcement.

沙特社會活動人士Loujain al Hathloul在今年因為無視女性禁止駕車的法令而被拘留73天，她在得知這個消息后發(fā)推特稱“感謝主”。

Manal al-Sharif, an organizer of the Women2Drive campaign who has also been imprisoned for driving, said on Twitter that Saudi Arabia would "never be the same again".

Women2Drive運動的組織者Manal al-Sharif也曾因駕駛汽車被關押。她在推特上說，沙特“再也不像以前那樣了”。

吉達市的社會活動家Sahar Nassif稱自己“非常激動，高興得上躥下跳”(very, very excited - jumping up and down and laughing)，她告訴BBC：

"I'm going to buy my dream car, a convertible Mustang, and it's going to be black and yellow."

“我要買我夢寐以求的汽車，一輛黑黃相間的野馬敞篷車。”

除了Sahar Nassif，不少沙特女性也在推特上曬出了她們夢想中的座駕：

不少人認為，沙特廢除女性駕車禁令是該國歷史的一大進步，有助于性別平等和社會公平。BBC安全事務通訊員法蘭克•加德納分析稱：

This decree is huge for Saudi Arabia. For decades now, Saudi women, many of whom are extremely well-educated and ambitious, have been waiting for their chance to participate fully in their country's economy.

這項法令對沙特阿拉伯來說意義重大。幾十年來，沙特女性，包括許多受過良好教育、有事業(yè)心的女性一直在尋求充分參與到該國經濟活動中的機會。

The reason it has taken so long is the long-standing opposition from religious conservatives, who have expressed views varying from "they are too stupid to drive" to "it will lead to intolerable mingling of the sexes".

這一禁令持續(xù)至今，是因為長久以來宗教保守派始終反對女性駕車，他們的反對觀點包括“女性過于愚蠢，不能開車”，“此舉將導致無法容忍的兩性交融”。

For all this time families have had to stretch their budgets to the limit, as they have had to hire in imported chauffeurs from south and south-east Asia, house them, feed them and insure them. An estimated 800,000 imported chauffeurs currently ferry Saudi women around.

一直以來，沙特家庭不得不支付高昂的開銷，因為他們需要雇傭來自南亞、東南亞地區(qū)的司機，為他們提供食宿和保險。沙特目前約有80萬接送女性的外國司機。

Yet this decree is in line with a programme called Vision 2030, promoted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, to modernize Saudi society and bring it more into line with the rest of the world.

而這項法令與沙特王儲穆罕默德•本•薩勒曼支持的《2030遠景規(guī)劃》方向一致，共同推動沙特社會現代化，與世界進一步接軌。

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman