Saudi Prince advocates that women should be allowed to drive

                                   Prince Alwaleed bin Talal                 (C)GettyImages

An outspoken billionaire Saudi prince wants an "urgent" end to his country's ban on women driving, saying overturning the law was a matter of women's rights and economic necessity.
"Stop the debate: Time for women to drive," Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said on his official Twitter account, @Alwaleed_Talal.
Alwaleed is an unusually outspoken member of the Saudi royal family who holds no political posts but chairs Kingdom Holding Co., which has interests including US banking giant Citigroup and the Euro Disney theme park. In conjunction with his short tweet, Alwaleed's office issued an unusually long statement late Tuesday outlining his reasons for supporting an end to the ban.
"Preventing a woman from driving a car is today an issue of rights similar to the one that forbade her from receiving an education or having an independent identity," Alwaleed said.
"They are all unjust acts by a traditional society, far more restrictive than what is lawfully allowed by the precepts of religion."
He also detailed the "economic costs" of women having to rely on foreign private drivers or taxis, since public transit is not a viable alternative in the kingdom.