Women are set to take the wheel in Afghanistan after a 10-year ban, officials have said.

Thirty women are to receive driving licences this weekend, the first to qualify since the collapse of the hardline Taleban regime last year.

We must encourage other women to take firm steps in order to achieve their rights Shah Jahan Sarwari, new driver

The women, mostly staff from the ministry of women's affairs, have completed a four month course of driving lessons.

Under the Taleban, women were banned from driving, working and attending school.

"It is not easy for a woman to drive in a totally male-dominated society," said Shah Jahan Sarwari, one of the women who took the driving lessons.

"We must encourage other women to take firm steps in order to achieve their rights and turn Afghanistan into an equal society for men and women."

The driving lessons were sponsored by Medica Mondiale, a German non-governmental organisation which paid two Afghan men from the Traffic Authority to teach the classes, and also provided classroom materials.

Thirty women doctors have also started lessons and are expected to get their driving licences in April.