Saudi woman hurt in crash after defying driving ban

SAUDI BAN: Women in the kingdom are not allowed to drive cars. (AFP)

A young woman in Saudi Arabia who defied ultra-conservative kingdom's ban on women driving was injured when the car span out of control and plunged into a stream, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The unnamed woman in her 20s "stole" her brother's car on Sunday, picked up a female friend and drove at high speed through a town in the Eastern Province before losing control of the vehicle, Al-Riyadh said.

The car hit an electricity pole and plunged into an irrigation channel. Both the driver and her friend were taken to hospital in serious condition, the paper said.

There have been several incidents reported in recent years of women being killed in accidents when they were driving in defiance of the ban - which is just one of a host of restrictions imposed on women in Saudi Arabia.

Women's rights campaigners have petitioned King Abdullah twice in the past year urging him to lift the ban.

Women in the Muslim Gulf kingdom are legally obliged to cover up from head to toe in public, and cannot travel without written permission from a male guardian.

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Response to Paul/AT
Posted by Omar, Dubai, UAE on Sunday 5 October 2008 at 18:08 UAE time

Paul,

Yes, I know that the article was from AFP. So you're saying that doesn't give ArabianBusiness Accountability?

AT,
I didn't say I agreed with the Saudi Law or not. I'm just saying that the reporting of Islamic/Muslim issues is terrible.

In terms of the "equal" comment you made, there is nowhere in the Quran that says ANY person (man or woman) is equal to the other. The Quran says:

"Verily! the noblest among you in the sight of Allah is the most God-fearing. Verily! Allah is The Knower, The Aware." The noble Qur'an, Al-Hujrat(49):13"

Ha Ha... Good One Omar!
Posted by Skand Bhargava, Dubai, UAE on Saturday 4 October 2008 at 11:27 UAE time


Guys, guys ! Where is your sense of humour ? Can't you recognize a tongue in cheek comment when you see one.
He obviously knows that the solution lies in providing women the same level of training as is provided to men.
Omar, you got them there. But not me!
I needed a good laugh, this Salik driven traffic jam was trying to ruin my day, but your wit saved it. Thanks.

Skand Bhargava
Time & Attendance
http://www.softoolsme.com

...
Posted by binsaif, Dubai, UAE on Thursday 2 October 2008 at 15:35 UAE time

To Paul,

Considering Arabian Business is based in the Islamic World, I think it would be fair to say they should atleast find a less biased source to post articles from.

To AT,
Islam does not oppress women. The law to ban women drivers has no basis in the Shariaa! I am sure Omar is aware of this. I also agree that Saudi men are horrible drivers. But if that is the case with the men...Then only God knows how bad the women would drive. :-)


This is ridiculous. Why are people trying to refute Omar's comment as if he were serious. Do you have to be a rocket scientist to sense the sarcasm that is evident throughout his comment!

Duhh Omar?
Posted by AT, Dubai, UAE on Thursday 2 October 2008 at 13:51 UAE time


Just a minute Omar, doesn't the Koran say men and women are equal? If this is so you should be supporting AB's reports of oppression.

Also doesn't Saudi have the highest number of road deaths in the world and 99+% of the drivers are male? So using Omar's logic in his second posting, men should definitely be prevented from driving.

Read the source first
Posted by Paul, Dubai on Thursday 2 October 2008 at 08:36 UAE time

You'll note that the source is AFP, a newswire. ArabianBusiness from time to time reprints stories from newswires - that's the function of a newswire. Address your grievences to AFP, rather than ArabianBusiness.

Also, to Omar - how many men crashed a car in say the UAE this week? And do you not think that if women were allowed to have driving lessons in Saudi Arabia, they might be less likely to crash?

Arabian Business Bias towards Secularism
Posted by binsaif, Dubai, UAE on Wednesday 1 October 2008 at 15:47 UAE time

Dear Omar. I have noticed the same thing. First the Soap Opera, then they misquote Sheikh Munajid and claim that he passed a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Mickey Mouse, then the continuous against Sheikh Yousef al Qaradawi, now this.
Dear Arabian Business
Can you please provide Balanced Reports.

Car Crash
Posted by Omar, Dubai, UAE on Tuesday 30 September 2008 at 22:54 UAE time


If women keep crashing their cars, wouldn't it be safer for them not to drive?

Arabian Business Bias towards Secularism
Posted by Omar, Dubai, UAE on Tuesday 30 September 2008 at 22:53 UAE time


I've noticed that ArabianBusiness has extremely biased towards secularism in its reporting of religious issues in the Gulf. Instead of giving the religious or Islamic ruling and reasoning, there is always a tendency to give the secular "struggle" in a religious issue. As a Muslim living in the Gulf, I hope that ArabianBusiness can rectify this bias.

Thank you,
Omar

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