Saudi women at last allowed to drive ( Archived) (5)

Saudi women have hailed a move by the conservative kingdom’s ruler to allow them to drive as a landmark moment in a society where gender roles have long been rigidly demarcated and strictly enforced.


Women contacted by the Guardian responded with jubilation to the law change, which activists and senior Saudi officials claim marks a watershed in the country.


“The mindset has shifted,” said Sultana al-Saud, 26, from Riyadh. “We weren’t waiting for our families to accept, we were waiting for something larger to back us up, a backbone, which is the government.


“This is a huge step for women, it’s nice to see women behind the wheel metaphorically I believe it’s like her leading her life now. The patriarchy is slowly but surely turning to land of equality. This is amazing. It’s the first few steps of freedom, we didn’t even reach 2030 yet,” she said in reference to a government plan to transform Saudi society. “We are part of this big vision. We women are now taken into consideration.”


Under the new law, women can legally obtain a driving licence without asking a male guardian for permission, despite “guardianship” laws that grant Saudi men power over female relatives.

Less than a day after the royal decree was issued, Saudi women said the shock was still being absorbed across the kingdom, where societal rules are often governed by an inflexible reading of Islamic teachings.
Senior Saudi clerics appeared to be onside, responding with an apparently coordinated series of public statements, aimed at shifting a widely expected conservative pushback.


The commission of top Islamic clerics tweeted: “May God bless the king who looks out for the interest of his people and his country in accordance with sharia law.”
Dr Abdel-Latif al Sheikh, the former head of the religious police, tweeted: “Women driving is not against sharia and women will choose what best suits them.”


Sheikh Khaled al Mosleh, a professor of religion in Saudi Arabia, also tweeted that “allowing women to drive answered the needs of a big portion of the population”, and added a lengthy justification for the move under Islamic law.

“There’s still a lot of rumours going on,” said Saud. “Sharia law can still play a large role in this. There are rumours about women not being able to drive (in parts of) Saudi, that you have to be above a certain age, that there might be a curfew.”

Why couldn't they drive on the first place?
Stick not long enough or what?

big mistake

Saudis are going backward