Posted on 01/20/2008 2:46:00 PM PST by blam
Saudi Arabia to lift ban on women drivers
By Damien McElroy in Riyadh
Last Updated: 9:18pm GMT 20/01/2008
Saudi Arabia is to lift its ban on women drivers in an attempt to stem a rising suffragette-style movement in the deeply conservative state.
Government officials have confirmed the landmark decision and plan to issue a decree by the end of the year.
The move is designed to forestall campaigns for greater freedom by women, which have recently included protesters driving cars through the Islamic state in defiance of a threat of detention and loss of livelihoods.
The royal family has previously balked at granting women driving permits, claiming the step did not have full public support. The driving ban dates back to the establishment of the state in 1932, although recently the government line has weakened.
"There has been a decision to move on this by the Royal Court because it is recognised that if girls have been in schools since the 1960s, they have a capability to function behind the wheel when they grow up," a government official told The Daily Telegraph. "We will make an announcement soon."
Abdulaziz bin Salamah, the deputy information minister, said the official reform programme had been dogged by debate over the issue.
"In terms of women driving, we don't have it now because of the reticence of some segments of society," he said. "For example, my mother wouldn't want my sister to drive.
"It's something she cannot grapple with. But there is change on the way. I think the fair view is that one can be against it but one does not have the right to prevent it."
If the ban on women driving is lifted, it could be years before the full impact is seen. Practical hurdles stopping women obtaining licences and insurance must be overcome.
Mohammad al-Zulfa, a reformist member of the Saudi consultative Shura Council, which scrutinises official policies in the oil-rich state, said reversing the ban was part of King Abdullah's "clever" strategy of incremental reform.
"When it was first raised, the extremists were really mad," he said. "Now they just complain. It is diminishing into a form of consent."
Saudi Arabia maintains a strict segregation of the sexes outside the family home.
An unaccompanied woman must shop behind curtains and cannot hail a taxi.
Critics believe allowing women to drive would be the first step towards a gradual erosion of the kingdom's modesty laws. A woman would have to remove the traditional abaya robe to get a clear view behind the wheel.
"Allowing women to drive will only bring sin," a letter to Al-Watan newspaper declared last year. "The evils it would bring - mixing between the genders, temptations, and tarnishing the reputation of devout Muslim women - outweigh the benefits."
Saudi women have mounted growing protests. Fouzia al-Ayouni, the country's most prominent women's rights campaigner, has risked arrest by leading convoys of women drivers. "We have broken the barrier of fear," she said. "We want the authorities to know that we're here, that we want to drive, and that many people feel the way we do."
OMG. That is a big mistake. They have no idea what they are getting themselves into!
Women picking up guys and going burqua bashing at the local drive in theaters!
Their civilisation is doomed!
Wow, and they did it without us having to have to bomb them!.
Even if the ban is lifted, it won’t do much good if any woman who chooses to drive is in danger of being attacked and punished by the zealots at large and if a blind eye is turned to those attacks.
Still, I’ll be positive enough to say it’s a step in the right direction.
Next thing they might want to vote or something.
Well, isn't that special!
Sounds like maybe someone organized a national “not now, I have a headache” campaign. Or, maybe they went with the Distributed Operations mode and broke deployed Nag Teams.
The Passive Aggressive Underground.
Keep it up and keep at it ladies. The lives of your countrymen depend on you sneaking up on them and tricking them into getting civilized.
Look for a new advertising campaign by Geiko, out with the cavemen and in with the female sucide bomber/driver....
Well that’s awful white of them.
“Even if the ban is lifted, it won’t do much good if any woman who chooses to drive is in danger of being attacked and punished by the zealots at large and if a blind eye is turned to those attacks.”
And here I thought they only allowed women suicide bombers to drive.
Love to see what happens the 1st time a female Saudi causes an accident which injures one of the punk princes.
This may impact my plan for separate US highways for male and female drivers. :-(
Well now, let's see... It's January right now. That gives them plenty of time to reconsider their decision, doesn't it...
Unless they are using a different calendar, but then maybe "by the end of the year" means by the end of some other, as-yet undefined year, such as "by the end of the year 3000", but not by the end of this year...
I predict a future of heightened honor killings to save the "reputations" of these women drivers and their families.
It’s all Bush’s fault......
Bush’s fault.
We invaded the wrong country.
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