RIYADH- For decades, Saudi Arabia has been known as a hardline Islamiccountry with a poor human rights track record and an abysmal approach towomen’s rights. The wheel of change though has reached the country andCrown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is driving the country towards genderequality.

“We are all human and there is no difference between men and women,” herecently told CBS News Program in what is being widely hailed as the comingof age for Saudi Arabia.

The country in recent months has relaxed prohibitive rules which includedwomen being forbidden from driving and from watching all-men sportingevents at stadiums.

While close allies like the United States have lauded the efforts beingmade, it is but a start. Mohammed bin Salman says yearsof “ultraconservative interpretation of Islam” will take time to subside.”We were victims, especially my generation that suffered from this a greatdeal,” he said about conservatism that spread through the kingdom after1979.

While bin Salman may have indeed sparked a change after decades ofoppression, critics remain adamant that a whole lot more needs to be donefor him to prove he has noble intentions. For starters, many argue thatactivists and writers jailed for demanding more rights for women must befreed. Many also say that the so-called guardianship laws continue to chainwomen in Saudi Arabia because it gives men control over their lives.

Bin Salman himself has led a lavish lifestyle – he recently bought a yachtfor half a billion dollars – and his commitment towards common Saudi peopleis doubted.

Asked, therefore, about how successful he predicts his rule would be, binSalman reportedly said ‘only death can end my reign as Saudi Arabia’s crownprince.’