Women driving: Don’t interfere in our domestic issues

Saudi journalist Sabria S. Jawhar writes in the Saudi English language daily, the Arab News on March 24, 2014. A link to the story is here,  and the text is pasted in below.

- Sabria S. Jawhar
US President Barack Obama during his visit to Saudi Arabia on March 28 is expected to defend the United States’ position on Iran, Syria and Egypt. America’s warmer relations with Iran, in particular, have affected the 70-year relationship between the two countries.

Obama’s abandonment of the Egyptian government, a vital Saudi ally, and his failure to intervene last fall when there was documented evidence that the Syrian government used chemical weapons to kill civilians has angered the entire region.

America and Saudi Arabia have always enjoyed a close and binding relationship and it’s only now there has been some disagreements.

In view of the new developments, the Saudi government has taken the initiative to forge strong ties with non-western countries.

It’s quite a surprise when Amnesty International demonstrated breathtaking naiveté in an ill-considered campaign to get Obama raise women’s driving issue during his visit to the Kingdom. Amnesty International also wants Obama to meet with Saudi women who protested the driving ban last Oct. 26.

Here we have two countries warily circling each other following profound changes in American foreign policy, which could conceivably alter their future relationship for decades to come, and the human rights group feels the timing is perfect to play dirty.

Of course there is no religious justification for banning Saudi women from driving. We also know now that Saudi society either accepts or is indifferent to women getting behind the wheel. If Oct. 26 has taught us anything, the driving ban is a government position. I have said many times in this column that I and most of the women I know want the right to drive whether we actually get behind the wheel or not.

But the tone-deaf Amnesty International thinks it’s prudent for Obama to raise women’s driving issue. Here’s the point I see: At the precise moment that Obama needs to bridge the obvious gap between Saudi Arabia and his administration, the world’s largest and most respected human rights organization wants to thrust an obscene gesture right in Saudis’ faces.

The human rights group argues that Saudi women would “benefit from global solidarity.” While Saudi women’s social media campaign has certainly publicized their efforts, the impact of global solidarity is questionable.

Amnesty International consistently ignores that Saudis will not under any circumstances accept the imposition of a foreign government’s will on Saudi Arabia. Any foreign agenda will be rejected. Even many supporters of the women driving issue will not accept external intervention. Our pride and dignity preclude such interference and only Saudis will effect change.

Yes, the world needs to know that we want our rights guaranteed in Islam, but having heads of state exert external pressure on domestic issues smack of stupidity. Saudi Arabia certainly hasn’t indulged in putting pressure on the French government to lift its niqab ban or Switzerland’s minaret ban. Saudi Arabia also hasn’t made efforts to curb the rise in power of anti-Muslim political parties. Yet Amnesty International sees fit to interfere in domestic issues here.

If Saudi Arabia had a track record of bowing to international scrutiny, then maybe such a plan would work. But really, since when has the Saudi government ever expressed the slightest concern over what any western country says about Saudi women driving?

Driving advocates have myriad tools available to wage their campaign, not the least of which is social media. Applying pressure to President Obama to join in the campaign will backfire. Such a campaign also seriously misreads the status of the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

President Obama: Take a Drive for Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia

Next week President Obama will visit Saudi Arabia. Amnesty International has put together an e-mail campaign to urge President Obama to not only bring female personnel with him, but to speak up about women's rights and human rights in general.

Link to the Amnesty International page: here.

In case your link doesn't work, below is the text from the Amnesty International page:
This month, President Obama is going to Saudi Arabia on what The New York Times called a "fence-mending" trip. That’s the wrong approach.
Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are banned from driving. Saudi Arabian women continue to face severe discrimination and other restrictions in law and practice.
Tell President Obama to stand up for human rights while in Saudi Arabia. Urge him to select a female Secret Service officer to be his driver while in Saudi Arabia, meet with Saudi Arabian women who have protested the driving ban, and meet with the family members of imprisoned peaceful human rights activists.

Text of the e-mail petition you can sign on the link above:

I join Amnesty International in calling on you to take a strong stand for women's human rights when you visit Saudi Arabia this month.  Please advocate for significant human rights reforms in your meetings with King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and other Saudi Arabian officials. 

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women from driving. This is part of a larger pattern of discrimination against women in law and practice. Not only that, but the overall human rights situation in Saudi Arabia is abysmal.  

The government of Saudi Arabia is responsible for an ongoing crackdown against peaceful human rights defenders. In addition, migrant workers and ethnic and religious minorities face significant human rights violations as well. Anyone who speaks out against flaws in the system risks being branded a "terrorist" and tossed in a jail cell.

It is time for a powerful statement that will strengthen the ongoing efforts of both women human rights activists and other human rights defenders who are calling for change and reform.

I urge you to take the following public steps to show your support for human rights in Saudi Arabia:

- Select a female Secret Service officer to be your driver while in Saudi Arabia.

- Seek a meeting with Saudi Arabian women who have protested the driving ban.

- Seek a meeting with the family members of imprisoned peaceful human rights activists.

I also urge you urging to champion the following human rights reforms in your meetings in Saudi Arabia:

- Ending severe restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.

- Ending torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.

- Ending discrimination against women.

I'm concerned that the U.S. government has put geopolitics and oil ahead of human rights in its relationship with Saudi Arabia. As an ally of the United States, Saudi Arabia has been spared the blunt criticisms that U.S. officials make of other governments that commit serious human rights violations. Your upcoming visit is an opportunity to end this discrepancy.

Your personal support for human rights in Saudi Arabia is vital. While U.S. officials may have privately called for human rights reforms in the past, these efforts have failed to produce results.  I urge you to take public action and directly advocate for reform to demonstrate that the United States is standing with Saudi Arabian human rights activists.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this important matter.

Amnesty International: Support Saudi Women in Their Driving Struggle

In honor of International Women's Day on March 8, 2012, Amnesty International has issued a call for people around the world to voice their support for lifting the ban on Saudi women driving. They ask people to upload photos of themselves with signs of support onto Flickr.  Here is the link for posting your photo.

A link to their press release is here and below, their video on YouTube.

The excerpt about Saudi women driving from their press release:

Drivers of change in Saudi Arabia

Due to Saudi Arabia’s male-controlled “guardianship” system, women are discriminated against and denied control over their own lives on a wide range of social, personal, and economic issues.

Perhaps one of the most unusual, yet pervasive, restrictions is a de facto ban on Saudi Arabian women driving in the country, even when they hold valid international driver’s licenses and freely drive elsewhere in the world.

Last year, women activists re-launched the campaign to protest against the ban called “Women2Drive”, which used social media to urge women with international driver’s licenses to take to the roads from 17 June 2011 onwards.

Scores of women participated in the action, with many arrested and forced to sign pledges never to drive again. At least one woman was tried and sentenced to 10 lashes for defying the ban.

Although Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah announced women would have the right to vote in municipal elections in 2015, the divisive driving ban has yet to be overturned.

Amnesty International sees the ban as symbolic of the many areas of life where women in the kingdom continue to have their human rights heavily restricted.

The organization is calling on people around the world to share images and messages of solidarity with Saudi Arabian women activists, supporting them in their “drive to freedom”.