Women in Saudi Arabia on Friday were openly driving cars in defiance of the unwritten ban on female drivers. Like many protests in the Arab world this has been organised through social networks with women posting videos of themselves driving and pressing for the "right of Saudi women 2 drive protest"

Saudi is widely reported as one of the most oppressive regimes in the world and women seem to be generally treated as subservient to men. It is generally accepted that only men are allowed to drive automobiles in the oil-rich kingdom. But there are actually no official national or provincial laws forbidding women from going behind the wheels of cars. And in rural areas women do actually drive. And women also drive vehicles at work places.

 Most Saudi women have to be driven by chauffeurs or husbands wherever  they go.

A female activist, Manal al-Sherif, was sentenced to jail for two weeks last month for violating the ban.

No arrests have been made so far, although a woman driving in an SUV in Riyadh was reportedly stopped by a policeman. She was allowed to continue her trip.it is believed that a few dozen women actually drove today in defiance of the convention of being driven. I tis believed the Government is being more measured in its reaction today because of the uprisings throughout the Arab world.

An earlier such protest took place in November 1990. The reaction then was extreme. Clerics branded the 47 women amoral and the royal family confiscated their passports, and fired those who worked for the government.

Many young married women are angry that they cannot afford the very high cost of drivers licences in the Kingdom, or the cost of a driver, which is about $600 a month . The women may be on the way to winning their rights to operate automobiles, as their movement is believed to have the blessings of key member of the Saudi royalty, including Prince Talil.
Prince Talal bin Abdul-Aziz al-Saud, now 79, is in favor of women driving and that the reforms need to be made.

Photocredit : Yazmajam.blogspot.com

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