Tomorrow, new battle by Saudi women for the right to drive
Feminists are trying to push the king to lift the ban on women driving, a principle staunchly defended by conservatives who have recently lost at least in one area, namely the sale of undergarments to women.
Riyadh (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Undaunted by the danger of arrest, Saudi activists announced that tomorrow they would challenge the ban on women driving. The “campaign” of civil disobedience, which aims at getting a royal decree allowing women to drive a car, was launched on Facebook, following a pattern used in various Arab nations to promote pro-democracy demonstrations.
Recently, Saudi feminists have scored a victory in at least one area. A royal decree has in fact repealed a law that required that only men sell women’s undergarments.
Now feminists want to overturn the driving ban, which they have challenged in the past two decades but for which they have also suffered repression.
The new campaign, dubbed Women2drive, urges women to get behind a wheel everywhere, not in a single place, because 47 women were arrested in 1900 when they started a convoy around the capital.
Although there is no law banning women driving, regulations by the Interior Ministry impose a ban (which exists only in Saudi Arabia). About ten women are in prison for breaking it, including the best known, 32-year-old Manal al Sherif.
Some 3,345 people petitioned King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to lift the ban, whilst some 24,000 people expressed support on a Facebook page set up calling for her release.
The kingdom’s hard-line conservative religious establishment is staunchly opposed to the idea of women driving. In fact, even before the Arab Spring, King Abdullah, through a number of interventions, had shown a desire to limit their role.
This is why, in a series of instructions posted on Facebook, organisers tell participants to raise the Saudi flag and posters of King Abdullah when they drive.
Recently, Saudi feminists have scored a victory in at least one area. A royal decree has in fact repealed a law that required that only men sell women’s undergarments.
Now feminists want to overturn the driving ban, which they have challenged in the past two decades but for which they have also suffered repression.
The new campaign, dubbed Women2drive, urges women to get behind a wheel everywhere, not in a single place, because 47 women were arrested in 1900 when they started a convoy around the capital.
Although there is no law banning women driving, regulations by the Interior Ministry impose a ban (which exists only in Saudi Arabia). About ten women are in prison for breaking it, including the best known, 32-year-old Manal al Sherif.
Some 3,345 people petitioned King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to lift the ban, whilst some 24,000 people expressed support on a Facebook page set up calling for her release.
The kingdom’s hard-line conservative religious establishment is staunchly opposed to the idea of women driving. In fact, even before the Arab Spring, King Abdullah, through a number of interventions, had shown a desire to limit their role.
This is why, in a series of instructions posted on Facebook, organisers tell participants to raise the Saudi flag and posters of King Abdullah when they drive.
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See also
Saudi feminist drives car, defies ban
11/03/2008
11/03/2008
Women allowed in Jeddah motor show
13/01/2018 13:09
13/01/2018 13:09
