Saudi woman divorces wife for driving car

On May 13, 2014  the Press Trust of India reports below. A link to the story is here..

A Saudi woman's bid to surprise her husband with a video clip of her driving a car backfired when he decided to divorce her for defying the Kingdom's ban on female driving and violating social traditions.

The man in Eastern Province received the short video clip on his cell phone through the mobile application - Whatsapp sent by his wife who wanted to surprise him with her act.

The man, who was sulking that his wife took the decision to drive in public without informing him, argued that his wife had violated the law and social traditions. He then decided to end their married life, the Gulf News reported.

He told the judge that he did not beat or hit his wife after watching the clip and that he simply asked her to go and stay with her family until the divorce papers are finalised.

There is a de facto ban on female drivers in Saudi Arabia. Women in Saudi Arabia have been defying their nation's de facto ban on driving by getting behind the steering wheel.

Social traditions against driving are so strict that only few women mustard courage to drive in public. Besides, those who do so are often stopped by the traffic police for driving without a Saudi driving licence, which usually results in signing a pledge not to drive again.