Four female lawyers are set to become the first women in Saudi Arabia to practise law in the country's courts, marking another milestone for women's rights in the notoriously conservative kingdom.

The Ministry of Justice was expected to issue the four women with licences to practise law on Sunday, local media reports said.

Major hurdles remain: There is still strict gender segregation at work and any job that requires driving is off limits. Credit:AP

Until now, female law graduates worked as ''legal consultants'' - they could not represent clients in court and were not considered lawyers. Without a licence, they could not open law firms in their name.

Pressure began building on authorities to reform the system in 2011 and a social media campaign, ''I am a female lawyer'', launched last year brought widespread attention to the issue.