Saudi lobbyist in US optimistic about women driving

The English language daily, the Arab News, published this article on 4/29/17.  You can link to the story here.   The text is pasted in below.

Salman Al-Ansari

JEDDAH: A Saudi lobbyist in the US has expressed optimism that women will get the right to drive in the Kingdom.
In an opinion piece published by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy on Friday, Salman Al-Ansari, president of the Saudi American Public Relation Affairs Committee (SAPRAC), referred to the transformative changes put forward by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“He explicitly hinted that an end to the ban on women’s driving is in the pipeline,” said Al-Ansari.
“Despite the many challenges, the deputy crown prince is attempting to undertake LBJ-like social reforms and Thatcher-like economic reforms in a country that is infamously resistant to change.”
Former US President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) was known for supporting path-breaking reforms, especially regarding civil rights. The late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher changed the UK with her economic reforms.
Granting women the right to drive “would arguably be the most symbolic change toward women’s rights in the Kingdom,” said Al-Ansari.
Prince Mohammed has taken bold decisions, such as issuing “a transformative order that barred the religious police from making arrests, which they previously did to young men and women for even attempting to mix with the opposite sex,” said Al-Ansari.
He added that Prince Mohammed was keen on putting Saudi women in positions of power and influence.
Al-Ansari cited the appointment of Princess Reem bint Bandar as vice president of women’s affairs at the General Authority of Sports, and Sarah Al-Suhaimi as chair of the Saudi stock exchange (Tadawul).
He said the deputy crown prince “is strident in his pragmatic efforts toward reforming the traditionally conservative Kingdom (and) he recognizes that the key ingredient to any resilient and diverse economy is the unbridled empowerment of women.”
Delving into the Kingdom’s recent history, Al-Ansari said it was “on the cusp of full legal gender equality” in the 1970s, but two factors stopped the march toward full rights for women.
“Saudi Arabia’s collaboration with the US in the expulsion of the Soviets from Afghanistan could not have been done without giving hardline religious voices more space to influence Saudi society,” said Al-Ansari.
“The second factor was the seizure of the Grand Mosque in Makkah in 1979. Saudi Arabia made some concessions to the religious establishment as a guarantee to preserve social cohesion.”
He said the primary beneficiaries of not giving women the right to drive were a few influential religious parties.
“They have shamelessly used women as a socio-political tool to gain socio-political influence,” said Al-Ansari.
Whenever there is talk of granting women more rights, he said, Saudi intellectuals raise two critical points.
“First, they must be small, slow, and gradual, so that no overwhelming cultural upheaval will be imposed on the Saudi people. The second point is that this openness must come from within, rather than from external forces.”
Al-Ansari said he agreed only with the second point. “I vehemently disagree with the first (because) the harsh reality is that the ‘gradual-change’ approach would take a needlessly long time to fully implement.”
He said the Kingdom had gone through a number of cultural shifts since it was established in 1932.
“Saudi Arabia is undoubtedly a conservative country, since it revolves around the sacredness of the Two Holy Mosques. It still, however, possesses a capacity for opening up,” he added.

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.

Woman Matters - Opinion Piece by Reem M. Asaad

Opinion piece in the Saudi English language daily Arab News by Reem M. Assad, about the key factor of mobility in women's advancement in Saudi Arabia. You can link to the article here and it's pasted below.

By REEM M. ASAAD  asaadreem@gmail.com
Published: May 2, 2012 01:12 Updated: May 2, 2012 01:12

The simplest right
In one media release, Princess Hessa bint Salman, a well-known female figure and a patron of some women activities in the Kingdom, underscored the significance of various government and private organizations in fulfilling their social responsibility by ensuring the participation of women in the development of national industries.

The press release goes on “Princess Hessa was attending a ceremony where an agreement to establish the women’s wing of the Military Clothes and Supplies Factory in the western region was signed.”

The above hardly turns any heads because the era of King Abdullah was marked by many significant and unprecedented advances in women status and work rights. In fact, never were women able to travel on academic and training scholarships with such ease and support as they are today.

Despite all this, inside Saudi Arabia, women still don’t have the legal right to travel from point A to point B independently without a male driver (personal or other), period. And in my opinion, anything said about women advancing without the right of mobility (or at least proper public transport) is plainly limped. Undoubtedly many influential figures wish they could drive, that regulations were more accommodating or that court rules bent more in their favor but good will alone doesn’t change anything. Only the government can. The usual rhetoric about the public acceptance of women driving no longer flies. Sorry, dear women, you are not independent until you can move freely down your own streets.

An ideal woman

So, the headlines flash out about a Saudi female doctor, scientist or other professional with outstanding award or breakthrough. The press coverage often glamorizes this achievement with plenty of additives on how she overcame cultural barriers with the support of a husband, father or other male relative, a credit that society and local followers expect to see. After a usually engaging — and sometimes inspiring — story of the journey come the reader comments.

In Saudi, the most important aspect of woman participation in public life and economic sphere remains to be … modesty. Her modesty determines whether she is a “fit” Saudi woman or a “model Saudi woman” (i.e. representative of her fellow Saudi women). So if her picture appears in the news, she is judged by the level of coverage on her face. On a scale from completely veiled (face unseen) to bare head — with many variations in between — a woman’s appearance in commented on and therefore the woman gets “labeled” or socially stratified based on the level of modesty.

In fairness, a woman is judged on her looks everywhere in the world, and modesty is a key part of professional appearance yet ranking it as the most critical feature of an achieving woman who serves her community is nothing but ridiculous.

So, who is the “picture perfect” Saudi woman these days?

The majority across the board will probably describe her as a well-covered, (ideally niqab-wearing and at a minimum full hair coverage without makeup) preferably a mother who handles both work and household responsibilities.

Reader comments gauge not only public opinion but also cultural sentiment and perception of the society. Sometimes I skip the headlines right down to these comments just to assess if anything has changed, and I do sense some progress that is a bit too slow for my taste.

Money matters

The banking sector in Saudi Arabia remains to be the most regulated and organized in the economy. Since the seventies, women worked in women-only branches as tellers, customer service representatives and branch managers. My own mother was an officer in one of Jeddah’s most prominent banks, and as a child I accompanied her during school breaks to an office of fewer than ten women. I remember how I was — to my greatest amusement — assigned to small tasks like paper copying or delivery. Two decades later things have not changed much in terms of organizational structure. In fact, it was not until 2001 that the bank at which my mother worked, allowed women a slow and shy entry to more senior and gender-mixed positions. I was among three women appointed in executive roles not limited to servicing women-only. Today, the bank employs at least 100 women in its headquarters in positions ranging from junior assistants to department heads. The journey since then is worth documenting. It involves cultural, religious and technical anecdotes to be taught and to be learned from. Among other writers, I credit the financial industry for bringing to the society a generation of well-trained professional women as well as more relaxed and “female accepting” men who now view women as an integral part of the workplace and not just the social and household scene.

Women driving: Topic is getting tedious

Op-ed by Saudi writer Eman al-Nafjan. A link to the story is here text pasted in below.

By EMAN ALNAFJAN

Published: Dec 18, 2011 23:23 Updated: Dec 18, 2011 23:23

Supporters and opponents of the ban agree it is a petty issue

The ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia is a topic that has become tedious due to the uncountable times it has been written about since the 1980s.

Saudi Arabia is infamous for its gender discrimination When it comes to who gets to sit in the driver's seat. The only thing that rivals it in what the country is known for globally is our never-ending supply of oil. What is ironic is that on both sides, Saudis who oppose and those who are calling for lifting the ban, is that they are in agreement that the whole issue is petty.

Both sides, though, come to this same conclusion of pettiness from different perspectives. Those who are calling for the lift of the ban on women driving point out how the ban is basically put in place as an obstacle to women who otherwise would go out into the workplace and most probably compete with men. However, this obstacle consequently extends to obstructing ease of access to education, health care, work in completely gender-segregated environments and even the basic right to socialize or leave the house for a change of scenery.

Another reason that the ban is in place is the argument that a man in the driver's seat is a deterrent to neighboring cars from flirting with the women passengers. This whole line of reasoning is easily shot down. First of all, who is to say that the employed driver himself won't harass the women passengers? Secondly, I cannot count the times I've come across Saudi men who completely ignored the driver's presence and dangerously harassed and chased cars that carry women passengers.

Harassment on the streets will not stop until as a short-term measure we have strict laws that deter men from even considering lifting up their pre-written signs of their cell phone numbers while they drive precariously next to family cars driven by foreign drivers. The long-term measure would be to throw out the whole wolf-hunting-lambs rhetoric that we keep drilling into the heads of our young people until they really believe that being hunter and prey is just the way it's meant to be rather than mutual respect. For those who oppose women driving, they come to the “pettiness” conclusion from the perspective of prioritization. They, in a rather elitist tone, put the ban mildly as an occasional inconvenience rather than a full-blown obstacle. And since it is merely an occasional inconvenience there are more pertinent women's rights issues to speak out about.

They keep asking people involved in women driving campaigns why they aren't putting this energy into calling for the rights of divorced women to child custody and stable and secure alimony. Or why aren't they putting this energy into equal rights in pension plans regardless of gender. Or even audaciously demanding that instead of facilitating women transportation we should be calling on the government to pay women a stipend to stay home.

Those who oppose women driving have come to this pettiness conclusion after being cornered because their previous religious and traditions arguments have deteriorated in front of Saudi religious scholars and sheikhs who have publicly stated that there is no religious reason to prohibit women from driving and traditional Beduin women have been driving in rural areas for years. The best thing about this decades-old argument and dialogue is that it's not as stagnant as it might seem to the Saudi people.

Having reached the same conclusion, especially for the latter group of those who oppose, we can be much more optimistic about actually reaching a breakthrough. In the 1980s and 90s we were calling for something that according to the public forum was a threat to our religion, traditions and our very way of life. Now after all this back and forth, it has whittled down to a petty cause that is not worth the time and effort of national campaigns.

Although this could be considered an insult to those of us who have worked long and hard on these campaigns and have spoken out against this ban, I think most of us are extremely happy that we have made this much progress and are optimistic that this is only a sign of the ban being lifted in the near future.

Women drive in Saudi Arabia?

Excellent opinion piece from the Arab News by Somayya Jabarti. The text is pasted in below.

Women drive in Saudi Arabia?


By SOMAYYA JABARTI
Published: Oct 7, 2011 21:47 Updated: Oct 7, 2011 21:47

After all they are so much better off tucked away in the passenger’s seat

Outrageous! Incredible!

But why? Why in the world would we women want to drive in Saudi Arabia?

After all, we are so much better off tucked away in the passenger's seat in the safe hands of Ali, Rico and Abu Taleb. So what if Ali milked cows back home or if Rico has a criminal record or if this is the first time Abu Taleb has laid hands on a vehicle!

Why, oh why, in the world would we women want to drive in Saudi Arabia when all the men and all the would-be-men (i.e., the boys) are at our singular service, idly flicking away the flies with nothing better to do than await the opportunity to drive us anywhere, anytime at the bat of our eye lashes?

They may have jobs. (Wow, they work?). They may have school to go to. (Educated, are they?) They may have errands to run. (You don't say!) They may have lives to lead. (Oh like us you mean?) But they are prepared to drop them all once we whistle — sorry, call.

Because fathers, husbands, sons, brothers, uncles, nephews, grandfathers, grandsons, even grand-uncles and grand-nephews (how many more male relatives do I need mention?); or a friend's driver, or a driver’s friend or the friend's friend's friend's driver – in short, every man on every street in the Kingdom is at our beck and call. Right?

They breathe to drive and drive us only. Right?

These are supposedly the men-in-waiting who won’t ever keep us waiting, waiting and (more) waiting, come heatstroke, rain, showers or pain. You don’t even need to ask, ask and ask again; or persuade, cajole or even bribe. If you should ever so much as have to dash round the corner to the pharmacy, to the supermarket, to take your feverish child or your sister in labor to hospital — Shazam! Like Aladdin's genie, your chariot awaits you!

How thankful we women should be. Has a woman ever been deserted at traffic lights or in the middle of the street by her driver? (On second thoughts, forget that one!) At least no woman ever had to drive a sick father, husband or brother to hospital. They are supermen, never given to bad moods or sudden, unreasonable changes of mind about driving us. (Oops, forget that one too!)

Our streets are a constant amusement park and we lucky, oh-so-lucky women should realize what a pleasure it is to be in the passengers’ seat! Why ask for more?

After all, there is the “mini-roller coaster ride” when any Tom, Dick or Harry (or more likely Mohammad, Mustafa or Mahmoud) drives the car in “bicycle” mode — one foot on the accelerator, then the brakes, then again the accelerator, then again the brakes and so on. Breaks, accelerator, brakes, accelerator. What could be more enjoyable than the forward jerk, back jerk, forward jerk, back jerk? Extreme neck therapy and digestive quickie all in one go! (Car manufacturers: Paper bags are the next big thing in Saudi Arabia after air bags.)

Next comes the Bipolar Flip-Turn ride. Dick or Harry suddenly wants to turn left but is in the far right lane, then decides again it is right he wants to turn to; sorry no, it’s left, no it’s straight on. (Surely it's the medication he is or is not taking.)

Thirdly, the Wannabe “Fast'n'Furious” ride. Dick or Harry believes himself to be Van Diesel. At 120 km/hr, he swerves to the left, then to mid-lane, then to the right, then zigzags back to the left, to mid-lane, then back to the right lane, back to mid-lane (how many lanes are there?) Now right! Quick left! No right! Left! — I didn't lose you there, did I?

Then the crown-of-all rides: My-Street mode when all streets revolve around Dick’s or Harry’s wheels and his wheels alone. He alone owns the street. The roads, the parking spaces all are his. No one else has any right to the road. They have to be psychic, able to predict his every move and intention. He signals right but intends to go left. He signals left but goes right. Or even better does not signal at all! He double parks, he triple parks, he parks on corners, he blocks the road. (Parking tickets? They'll probably have to wait until 2015 when women get onto the Shoura and municipal councils).

My oh my, imagine what a dangerous place our so safe streets would become if women were to drive!

But for the now, our uniform-clad menfolk merely need to watch over them. And they do just that. Watch.

They do not have to concern themselves with the suicidal or homicidal red-light jumpers. Long live the “Saher” system! Saher lights flash you once, flash you twice and flash you thrice!

And, of course, they catch every violation by every car we women own but cannot drive — cars bought with money earned, money saved, installments paid for by us. And because of it, though we are prevented from committing the traffic violations, we still have to pay for them, because they are our cars. Hail the balanced hand of man-driven justice!

In any event, our pockets are so immune to global recession that if a window mirror is cracked, crushed or goes missing; if the car should suffer a dent, a streak, a broken tail-light or be involved in any accident (caused by Ali, Rico or Abu Taleb), we've ample riyals to spare! Fanning ourselves with peacock feathers in the back seats, we gleefully get to spill hundreds and thousands of riyals on car repairs, drivers' visas, salaries, housing expenses, travel tickets — the list goes on.

We understand. Women driving in the Kingdom really cannot be considered. It would require:

• Training policemen to act, not just watch;
• Training policemen, males and men (there is a difference between the latter two) to treat women drivers in the same way they do male drivers, as opposed to chasing after them, hyper-ventilating or any other immature response). The alternative would be to employ policewomen (now there’s a thought to make many sleepless nights for men in Saudi Arabia!);
• Actually implementing traffic regulations;
• Accepting women's total mobility (yes, your mother, wife, daughter, sister would go places independently — a scary thought!)

Too much change? Silly me thinking education enlightens you. Thing is, this here is no Wonderland. There are no Alices here. It is a land of promise.

We are all Manal, Najla, Shayma and Madeeha.*
This is a reality check, a wake-up call if you want.
Women in Saudi Arabia: to drive or not drive?

That is not the question. The question is: When?

* Manal, Najla, Shayma and Madeeha are Saudi women who have been prosecuted or cautioned for driving in the Kingdom.

Another Saudi woman briefly detained for flouting driving ban

This story from the Arab News of September 28, 2011 about a woman detained in Riyadh for driving. She said she took to the wheel out of happiness for the King's recent announcement about women getting the vote and joining the Shoura Consultative Council as full members. Story is pasted in below and the link to the story is here.

Another Saudi woman briefly detained for flouting driving ban

By WALAA HAWARI | ARAB NEWS

Published: Sep 28, 2011 23:44 Updated: Sep 28, 2011 23:44

RIYADH: Another woman was briefly detained on Wednesday for driving through the streets of Riyadh while being filmed by a foreign reporter.

The woman, identified as Madeeha, was unable to speak to Arab News as she had lost her voice due to an infection. In an e-mail, she wrote: “I really think it is ironic and funny for me to lose my voice when I need it the most.”

While she was being filmed by the woman reporter, Madeeha voiced her feelings of joy over Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s decision to give more political power to women.

“The more we publicly voice our needs the more I feel the king is responding to our demands,” Madeeha said.

She said she is not intimidated by the arrest, as she believes the more people voice their support for women driving, the sooner they will be recognized as full citizens.

“It is clear that women have been asking for the right to vote and run in the municipal elections and be part of the Shoura Council. This will be a real encouragement for women to continually ask for their basic right to drive,” she said.

The foreign reporter was protected by her embassy, and was let go by the police.
Madeeha told the woman that she would be all right.

“The reporter could not help herself but cry,” she said, adding that if Saudis want to be part of the global economy they cannot discriminate against women.

She was referring to a court’s decision to hand down a fine and a sentence of 10 lashes to Shayma Jastaniah for driving her vehicle in Jeddah. 

“We as a nation have to start dealing with the needs of our growing and complicated society,” Madeeha said.

Madeeha said that she drove out of total happiness over the king’s speech, and was not aware of Shayma's case, nor did she think that the police would take her into custody.

Madeeha signed a pledge not to drive again and was released.She will not have to face a court.

Commenting on the case, lawyer Sultan bin Zahem said nothing in Islam bans women from driving. He said the sentence handed to Shayma was not for breaching Islamic law, but the country's regulations and bylaws.

“It is a deterrent punishment and is based on the judge's discretion to end any activity that could breach laws and cause chaos,” he said.

Zahem said the foreign reporter involved in Madeeha’s case should have faced some punishment.

Zahem said the signs were women would be allowed to drive soon. “The current rapid developments and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s decisions are landmarks,” he said, pointing out that if the Saudi woman was to be trusted with a leading role in government, they would soon be able to get behind the steering wheel.

Arab News Editorial: The driving issue

The Arab News, Saudi Arabia's largest English language daily, editorializes. Pasted below, the link to the story is here.

Editorial: The driving issue

Published: Sep 29, 2011 22:06 Updated: Sep 29, 2011 22:06

Status of women provokes a great deal of comment within Saudi Arabia itself

There is no point trying to pretend that Saudi Arabia does not come in for a considerable amount of criticism from other parts of the world over the status of women in Saudi society — the issue of women not being allowed to drive, of women not being allowed a passport or leave the country without the permission of a male member of their family, of businesswomen having to have a male manager, of the restrictions on women lawyers. There are many more issues.

Much of that criticism ignores the fact that Saudi Arabia is, of its own choice, a very conservative society. It ignores too the fact that it is only relatively recently in Western countries that women have won the rights they now have. Women in the US gained the right to vote only in 1920, in UK it was in 1928, in France in 1944; in Switzerland, which claims to be one of the oldest democracies on earth, as recently as 1971. Compared to them Saudi Arabia is a young country.

The criticism also ignores the reality that the status of women provokes a great deal of comment and debate within Saudi Arabia itself. It is the hot issue.

Sunday’s historic announcement from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah — a consistent promoter of women’s rights — that women will in future be allowed to vote and stand for municipal councils and be appointed to the Shoura Council, therefore, drew the attention of the world. It has been welcomed as a sign of the Kingdom’s commitment to reform and progress. It was unfortunate then that almost immediately afterward the next Saudi story the international media focused on was that of Shayma Jastaniah, the Saudi woman sentenced to 10 lashes for driving in Jeddah. It inevitably made comparisons between the decision on women voting and the sentence, claiming that the latter undermined the importance of the former and that there were contradictions on the position of women in the Kingdom.

Saudis too have said as much. It is now rumored that the Shayma has been reprieved. If true, it would be welcome news and would go some considerable way to undo the perception that Saudi Arabia is sending out mixed messages on the status of woman. The issue of women driving is not going to go away. It is not a question of if it will happen. It is a question of when. We would hope as soon as possible. But there are those who have different views — and they are not all men. It is an issue that has to be debated but that debate has to be carried out in a calm and dignified atmosphere. Clearly, reports of women being sentenced to be lashed for driving do not contribute to a calm atmosphere.

However, while the driving issue is not going to go away, it would be wrong to imagine that now that women are to have the vote, it is the top women’s issue. It has great symbolic significance but there are many other goals to achieve, some of them mentioned above. As a conservative society, Saudi Arabia moves slowly — but it moves. And, as has been seen time and again, the king is a champion of modernization and reform. That is reason for great confidence.

© 2010 Arab News

Hiding behind wheel, another Riyadh woman hits the road

Excellent article in the 9/13/2011 Arab News by Walaa Hawari about a woman and her mother who admit to driving in Riyadh as an economic necessity. A link to the story is here and the text is below. 

Hiding behind wheel, another Riyadh woman hits the road

By WALAA HAWARI | ARAB NEWS

Published: Sep 13, 2011 23:35 Updated: Sep 13, 2011 23:35

RIYADH: Hiding under a hooded shirt, another Saudi woman drove on King Fahd Road in Riyadh.

The woman, identified as Nora, was accompanied by her mother, who had expressed her despair of using taxis to move around in the city. Taking taxis exhausted her, the mother complained, adding that it exposed her to a number of problems, as she had no man in the house.
“My only daughter learned to drive when we traveled and is in possession of a driving license, so I thought it more convenient to have her drive me around to finish my chores,” said the mother.
She added that recruiting a private driver was very expensive, and two of her previous drivers had run away, leaving her helpless.
The daughter, on the other hand, said she preferred to wear a hooded sweatshirt to hide her identity, as she was not sure about the law and how she would be treated if caught. “I also tried to keep a low profile, so men would not hassle me, given that I am not protected by the law. Things might turn against me if there was a clash,” said Nora.
Nora and her mother admitted that they had been driving since morning carrying out some chores all the way from Takhassosi Street, west of Riyadh, to Al-Woroud area, north of Riyadh, with no trouble at all. They were held in the traffic on King Fahd Road, where some of the drivers had spotted Nora, but left her alone.
Nora's mother said that once the government finally approved women driving, and bylaws were set to protect her daughter and other female drivers, her and other women’s problems would be reduced.
“I am retired and my salary is hardly enough for my expenses. I cannot afford a driver, and even if I could, I have no place for a strange man in my house,” said Nora's mother, confirming that she knew many other women in the same situation.
Yet Nora's mother expressed more despair about the present situation, as it remains unclear if driving is approved or not and whether she can come out openly with her daughter into the streets or has to keep dodging bullets.
Late last month Jeddah police briefly detained Najla Hariri, a social activist who was part of an Internet campaign titled “Women2Drive,” for driving her daughter to her workplace.

Arab News Op-Ed - Religious intolerance in Saudi Arabia - enough is enough

This opinion piece in the Arab News by Dr. Khalid al-Nowaiser (a Saudi attorney) calls for an end to religious intolerance in Saudi Arabia.

A big topic - that encompasses a woman's right to drive. I'm including it here because he points out how it's in the last 30 years that officially, the 'rules' have made things more difficult for Saudi women, not better. That of course has a strong bearing on the issue of women driving. Since the article isn't per se about women driving, I'm pasting in the quote about that topic. You can read the whole article by linking on the post title above. This op-ed illustrates how the issue of women driving is connected to a much larger question that continues to grip Saudi society at all levels, even though many in the government want society to change and open up.

Personally, I agree with every word in his article. But that's just my opinion.

Quote.......

"Most irritating is the way that these religious dogmatists wrongfully meddle with our lives and personal freedoms contrary to the very teachings of Islam. Who gave them the power to decide how our lives should be lived? Why should a social issue like women driving cars be so contentious? 

Shouldn't a woman decide this? Moreover, why is a woman not entitled to travel without the consent of a man? Why are her employment opportunities so constricted? "