No country in 2026 has a written law that bans women from driving a personal car, but the list of countries where women can’t drive freely is not empty. Afghanistan operates a de facto ban under Taliban rule, nine economies still legally prohibit women from certain commercial driving jobs, and in parts of the Middle East and South Asia cultural pressure keeps women off the road even where the law permits it.
Afghanistan: A Ban in Everything but Name
Afghanistan is the country most people are really asking about. Since the Taliban retook control in August 2021, no single decree explicitly says women cannot drive, but the practical effect of overlapping orders amounts to the same thing.
In December 2021, the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice ordered that women traveling more than 72 kilometers (about 45 miles) by road must be accompanied by a close male relative. Vehicle owners were told to refuse rides to women not wearing headscarves. By May 2022, traffic management offices in Kabul and other provinces received verbal instructions to stop issuing driving licenses to women. The head of Herat’s traffic office publicly confirmed receiving such orders, and driving schools were told to stop giving lessons to women. In mid-2025, reports indicated the Taliban ordered Herat’s traffic office to prohibit women from driving on city streets and public roads entirely.
Without a license, a woman cannot legally operate a vehicle. Without a male relative present, she cannot travel any meaningful distance. Taliban officials sometimes parse the distinction between “not issuing licenses” and “not allowing driving,” but the outcome is a functional ban.
Saudi Arabia Lifted Its Ban in 2018
Saudi Arabia was for decades the only country that formally prevented women from driving. The restriction was not always spelled out in a single statute; authorities enforced it by refusing to issue licenses and detaining women who tried to drive. Women caught behind the wheel were taken into custody and released only after a male guardian signed a pledge that the woman would not drive again.
King Salman issued a royal decree in September 2017 announcing that women would be allowed to drive. The policy took effect on June 24, 2018, and Saudi Arabia began issuing driving licenses to women that same day. Within the first year, roughly 70,000 women obtained licenses. The change was part of the Vision 2030 reform plan, which aimed to increase women’s workforce participation and reduce economic dependence on oil revenue.
The ban was tied to Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system, which required women to get permission from a father, brother, or husband for basic activities like traveling or obtaining a passport. Saudi Arabia has relaxed some guardianship rules since 2019, though the system’s legacy still shapes daily life.
Countries That Still Restrict Women in Commercial Driving
Personal driving is settled almost everywhere. Professional driving is not. According to the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law 2026 report, nine economies still legally prohibit women from performing certain tasks in the transportation sector as of October 2025.1World Bank. Women, Business and the Law 2026: Benchmarking Laws for Jobs and Inclusive Growth The restrictions vary:
- In Belize and Papua New Guinea, women are barred from transporting passengers or goods by road, rail, or inland waterway.
- In Argentina, women are prohibited from operating trains.
- In Lebanon, women cannot drive large, machine-engined vehicles.
- In Tajikistan, women are restricted from working in railway transportation, road transportation, and civil aviation.
The number has been shrinking. The same report noted that the Kyrgyz Republic and Somalia both removed transportation restrictions on women between October 2023 and October 2025.1World Bank. Women, Business and the Law 2026: Benchmarking Laws for Jobs and Inclusive Growth In 2018, 21 economies had similar restrictions in transport, so roughly half have reformed in under a decade.2The World Bank. Women, Business and the Law 2018 – Key Findings
Some of the largest recent changes came from countries shedding Soviet-era labor codes. Ukraine repealed a regulation in December 2015 that had barred women from driving trucks, trains, locomotives, trolleys, and certain buses, along with nearly 450 other jobs. Russia followed with a broader overhaul, reducing its list of prohibited professions for women from 456 to 100, effective January 2021. Under the new Russian rules, women can work as truck drivers and train operators.
Where Culture Keeps Women Off the Road
Legal rights on paper do not always translate to freedom in practice. In parts of Yemen, rural Pakistan, and conservative communities across the Middle East and North Africa, entrenched expectations that women should not travel independently keep them from driving even where no law prevents it. A woman driving alone can draw enough attention and hostility that the risk is not worth it.
Male guardianship systems still operating in parts of the Middle East reinforce this dynamic. When a woman’s ability to leave the house depends on a male relative’s approval, the legal right to hold a license becomes largely theoretical. Economics matters too. In countries where women are excluded from paid work, few have the independent income to buy a car, pay for fuel, or cover insurance. The right to drive means little without the means to exercise it.