Saudi Arabia to allow women to drive

Thursday, September 28, 2017

On Tuesday, Salman bin Abdulaziz, the king of Saudi Arabia, signed a royal decree to permit Saudi women to obtain a driver's license and drive. The new decree is to be under effect from June 2018. After the signing of the landmark decree, Saudi's foreign affairs ministry tweeted, "By order .. Traffic system allows women to drive the car in the Kingdom" ^{((ar))Arabic language: ‍بأمر سامي.. نظام المرور يسمح للمرأة بقيادة السيارة في المملكة}.

Saudi Arabia was the only country where women were prohibited from driving. A committee of ministers is to decide upon how to implement this decree, and provide recommendations within a month. A majority of the country's religious advisory Council of Senior Scholars had agreed with the amendments. Though women would be issued driving licenses, their permission to drive would have to be in accordance with the Shari'a law, the scholars said. Also, Saudi Arabia has a law about guardianship, which mandates women seek permission from male guardians before leaving home. The committee would make recommendations about scenarios like this.

Last year, prince Alwaleed bin Talal issued a statement in support of eradicating this ban. The prince said, "Preventing a woman from driving a car is today an issue of rights similar to the one that forbade her from receiving an education or having an independent identity". He added, "They are all unjust acts by a traditional society, far more restrictive than what is lawfully allowed by the precepts of religion." The prince also cited economic concerns. In his statement, he said families had to rely on drivers when a female member had to travel, which could be avoided if women were allowed to drive. He said, "Having women drive has become an urgent social demand predicated upon current economic circumstances".

Manal al-Sharif, who was punished for driving in Saudi Arabia, and who advocated rights for women to drive, tweeted, "Today, the last country on earth to allow women to drive #Women2Drive#Daring2Drive we did it", after the announcement was made. Women who protested against the unequal rights in 1990 and 2011 were punished, in various cases jailed and banned from travel for years.

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Sources

Merrit Kennedy. "Saudi Arabia Says It Will End Ban And Allow Women To Drive" — National Public Radio, September 26, 2017
Marton Chulov. "Saudi Arabia's king issues order allowing women to drive" — The Guardian, September 26, 2017
Ben Hubbard. "Saudi Arabia Agrees to Let Women Drive" — The New York Times, September 26, 2017
"Saudi Arabia to allow women to drive" — Al Jazeera, September 26, 2017
Manal Al-Sharif. "Manal al-Sharif on Twitter" — Twitter, September 26, 2017
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Twitter" — Twitter, September 26, 2017 (Arabic)

External link

Alwaleed Bin Talal. "It's high time that Saudi Woman started driving their cars" — Alwaleed Bin Talal, November 24, 2016

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