Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in the UK on the 7th of March. His official visit will last 3 days. The Crown Prince, who is heir to Saudi Arabia's 82-year-old King Salman, is making his first visit to the UK since taking up the role last year.
Numerous decisions made by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country's youngest ruler, could finally revolutionise the lives of young women across Saudi Arabia for the better. Theresa May says that when see meets the Prince she will "be raising concerns about human rights", which will include those of women there.
Women have had very little to no rights in Saudi Arabia, and it's interesting that the prince will also be here on March 8th, which is celebrated internationally as World Women's Day.
On the 12th of January this year, women all across Saudi Arabia were finally allowed to watch live football in sports arenas for the very first time in their history. Many went to watch their first matches in these major cities: Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh. "My life wasn't the same after that" Manal Al-sharif explained to a local reporter when asked how it felt to be able to attend her first game.
Women in Saudi were also only allowed to vote in general elections for the very first time in 2015. And, amazingly, until now, no woman has been allowed to drive. Only men are allowed licences and women who drove in public risked being arrested and fined. Saudi Arabia is, in fact, the last country in the world where women aren't allowed to drive. But young Prince Salman has vowed to changed this, and there is talk that in June 2018 women will finally be allowed to drive unaccompanied by a male.
Campaigner Sahar Nassif told a BBC journalist who interviewed her in Jeddah that she was "very, very excited - jumping up and down and laughing. I'm going to buy my dream car, a convertible Mustang, and it's going to be black and yellow!". But despite celebrating the success for female drivers, she said the next campaign would be to end guardianship laws (which dictates that all decisions women take must be approved by a man first), and get all Saudi women the freedom and equality they deserve.
By : Amelie