We're starting to see reports on Twitter about today's against Saudi Arabia's cultural ban on women drivers.

-- From Jeddah, says that after 10 minutes behind the wheel she came to a police checkpoint. Her tweets indicate she was detained for a couple hours.

-- But, "interestingly enough no men noticed me driving," , also from Jeddah. "I'm kind of disappointed ..."

-- "My wife, Maha, and I have just come from a 45-minute drive, . #saudi #women2drive #WomenRights," says Mohammad Al-Qahtani, co-founder and president of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association.

-- Author Tawfiq Alsaif says the drive with his wife some people looked surprised, others were smiling."

of the news. Correspondent Jason Burke says from Riyadh that "police have been told to take a softly-softly approach, which reflects the fact that many Saudi royals are sympathetic to the women's demands."

As Ahmed Al Omran , "in Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy, women are subject to a male guardianship system, which requires they show proof of permission from their guardian 鈥� father, brother or husband 鈥� to travel, work, or sometimes receive medical treatment at a hospital."

One of the higher profile women who have pushed for the right to drive, Manal al-Sharif, has been .

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