Saudi woman driver reported killed in car crash is alive

A link to the story is here,  and the text is below.

Anti-driving ban campaigner Manal al-Sharif says unnamed desert woman was victim in fatal Jeddah crash

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guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 25 January 2012 09.57 EST larger

The woman reported killed in car crash in Saudi Arabia has told the Guardian she is alive, and the real victim was an unnamed member of a desert community.

Manal al-Sharif, the figurehead of a Saudi female driving campaign, said the woman who died in the fatal accident near Jeddah on Monday was not part of a group trying to overturn laws that ban women from taking the wheel.

Sharif and Rasha al-Dowiia, another woman who has defied the kingdom's laws banning female drivers, said officials largely ignored the small bedouin community to which the dead woman belonged, in an area named Ha'el. They said women regularly drove there but police left them alone because the bedouin were detached from mainstream Saudi society.

The dead woman's family is withholding her name. A second woman was injured in the accident and remains in hospital.

A slowly growing number of Saudi women are trying to force changes to laws that stop them from driving. Saudi Arabia enforces a hardline interpretation of Islamic law, and is one of the very few countries in the world to deny women the right to drive.

A vigorous internet campaign began last year, in which women such as Sharif, 32, a computer security consultant, were filmed behind the wheel. Videos posted to YouTube led to renewed scrutiny of the issue but failed to force a change to the law.

Sharif and Dowiia were both briefly jailed last year, and a third women who also drove was sentenced to 10 lashes. However, the sentence was overturned after the intervention of King Abdullah.

© 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

Manal Alsharif Honks for Driving Rights

In honor of the UN's Human Rights day, December 10th, Saudi woman driver Manal Alsharif made a YouTube video in Boston. Link to the video below. She invites supporters to make their own videos and e-mail the YouTube link to: honkforsaudiwomen@gmail. Once you watch the video, click on the many related links to see other peoples' videos. There is also a facebook page you can follow, http://www.facebook.com/honkforsaudiwomen  This campaign has been going since last summer, but it's fun to see Manal in Boston doing something on Human Rights Day. Ya halaa, Manal!

If you are on Twitter, don't forget to check out the hash tag  #women2drive. There is also a daily Twitter compendium of news on the subject that you can find by searching the #women2drive hash mark.

Manal al-Sharief reportedly has change of heart

The Saudi Gazette is reporting that Manal al-Sharief has changed her mind about encouraging Saudi women to drive. She is being held in the Dammam women's prison. Efforts are continuing to get her released.
Here is the link to the story: Saudi Gazette Story on Manal al-Sharief

Here is the entire text.

I made a mistake: Al-Sharief

KHALID AL-BALAHIDI

DAMMAM: Manal Al-Sharief admits she made a mistake by driving a car in the Kingdom and promises never to do it again. This is according to Dr. Ghazi Al-Shammari, Chairman of the Family Solidarity Committee in the Eastern Province Emirate, who told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that this is what Al-Sharief told him when he visited her at the Women’s Prison in Dammam.
Al-Sharief is the 32-year-old Saudi woman who was detained Saturday for driving a car in Al-Khobar.
Al-Shammari had visited her accompanied by Brig. Gen. Abdullah Al-Boushi, Director of the Eastern Province Prisons.
He said he spoke to her and quoted her as saying, “I made a mistake and I’m a daughter of this nation. I have nobody but my family and the sons and daughters of my nation. I advise girls of my generation to rally behind our leadership and Ulema. They know better than us about our condition. I’m confident about what I’m saying after sitting alone and contemplating.”She added that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is special because it has the Two Holy Mosques, is a refuge for Muslim hearts and is quite different from other countries in the world.
Al-Sharief said she was well cared for and only wanted to return to her family and her work. She had repeated she made a mistake and confirmed she would not repeat the action again, according to Al-Shammari, who was quoting a conversation Al-Boushi had with her about her needs in prison.
A source in the General Administration for Prisons said the administration in Dammam wrote a letter Wednesday to enquire about her situation. The letter also enquires about the possibility of detaining her in Al-Khobar Police Station or whether her detention should continue in the Women’s Prison in Dammam. She is expected to be released Thursday.
Other sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that great efforts are being made to get her released and that her remorse would be sufficient to ensure her freedom.
Okaz/Saudi Gazette reported earlier that Al-Sharief also plans to withdraw from the campaign for women to drive, according to a source at the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR). The source said members of the NSHR met with Al-Sharief at the prison for 90 minutes on Tuesday and described her condition and treatment as good.
“Manal wants to be released,” the source said. “She said the investigation had been carried out and she will withdraw from the campaign calling for women to drive cars.”
– Okaz/Saudi Gazette