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Saudi women get freedom to drive
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Monday, 21 January 2008
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Results 1 to 12 of 12
Posted on Friday, 13 November 2009
Saudi Women Driving
Posted by Robyn Graves at 23:57 UAE time
Well...another year later...and we're still waiting. But...step by step Saudi has embraced modernity....in spite of the fears and threats of the minority.
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Posted on Sunday, 3 February 2008
Resubmitted Comment.
Posted by Hussian M at 16:24 UAE time
Women Are not driving in Saudi Arabia at the moment as Mrs. Zakaria stated. In fact I am against women driving here, not because i have a problem with it (on the contrary I don't). Regardless of the fact my own mother is a British licence holder and drives my car in neighboring GCC countries. SHE doesn’t wish to drive here.
I'm not going to be all west vs east here. I have my own LOGICAL reasons for not wanting women to drive.
1- First of all, its our social structure, even though the government may allow it and many people will accept it with arms wide open. The hardliner majority will not. you will have hardliners issuing warrants of arrest for any woman caught behind the wheel doing her makeup, and courts will take little action against those who harass women on the roads (AND SADLY IT WILL BE WIDESPREAD). Our society isn’t mentally prepared or developed to see women drive(especially in Riyadh) where harassment will be the worst.
If however women to begin to drive soon Khobar and the east province will probably be the trail “zone”. Where people are much more accepting and educated.
2- Our traffic system: ours roads... a mess. our traffic police...incompetent, our traffic laws... 30 years out of date. When we already have an average of 3 vehicles per household I would like to ask what are we supposed to do when women start driving.... where will we park? How will we navigate our already dead roads (and we have no Salik too). People here are mostly maniacs, don't know how to use a turn signal, don't know how to respect anyone's courtesy on the road. Allowing a woman to drive on the streets of say (Jeddah) would be like throwing a ballerina into a mosh pit at a heavy metal concert.
I fear for my own life every time I get behind the wheel.
Unless our traffic laws are re-evaluated and improved, and a special forces of female traffic cops are deployed...like Dubai, I wouldn't allow any female I know to get behind the wheel out of concern for their lives.
3- The current condition for women to drive is very limited. First women must be 30 years old and have her caretaker's permission (ironic….30yr old women are deemed too old to get married for some people yet still too young to drive) And must be completely covered, so for those who don’t cover their faces… prepare to get fined…. (ridiculous I know).
In addition it does not help those who need it most, housewives under 30 who have no drivers and financial situation makes it hard to get one, single mothers, university students, divorces, widows, working women under the age of 30. Most women 30 and above will not wish to drive cause they are living their pampered lives.
Also driving times are from 6 am till 8 pm, which does not work well with women and their known shopping schedules.
Before we pull over to the side to allow women the right of passage on the lanes we need to look at our selves…. Mend our problems….sort out all the bugs and loopholes in our current traffic system.
Because frankly as we’ve all witnessed in the GULF, implementing a decision with no proper planning and preparation will definitely end up a colossal failure and will produce more negative results than the good it was meant to bring.
My feelings goes out to all those women who have to bear the brunt and live at the mercy of drivers and insane taxi drivers. Inshallah you will drive, just let things improve first.
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Congratulations to the women of Saudi Arabia
Posted by Jayant at 11:46 UAE time
I can't quite understand why so many of the responses to this piece of news are polarised along east/west lines. Freedom is the right to be able to choose to do something which doesn't adversely affect anyone else - or at least that's what it should be. Driving is a basic freedom which should never have been denied to women in KSA and it's good to hear that the ban has been lifted (however, if you take note of the comment by the lady from Al Khobar the freedom has yet to be realised).
Can be sure that there will be a lot of drivers out there desperately seeking new employment.
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My Comment
Posted by Hussian M at 09:45 UAE time
I still don't understand why my comment wasn't posted. Yet I see some really ridiculous comments being accepted here.
Is it some feminist reaction to a man posting a comment from Saudi Arabia?
Editors' reply: Kindly send your comment again. It may have got lost.
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Posted on Friday, 1 February 2008
some odd comments...
Posted by Serene Touma at 14:34 UAE time
There were two comments which struck me as odd. The first was: "they have a capability to function behind the wheel when they grow up"--the "source" makes it sound fascinating, as if it were quite a strange feat for a mere woman to complete! RIDICULOUS.
The second comment:
"The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has issued a circular to hotels asking that they accept women, providing their details are sent to a police station" - those lunatic women....tsk tsk, its a good thing the police station is aware of their history and whereabouts to ensure the safety and protection of their superior species, the MEN!
I do hope that my sarcasm is apparent in my comments and that they are not to be taken at face value.
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Posted on Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Saudi Women Get Freedom to Drive
Posted by H. Zakharia at 18:25 UAE time
I will believe it on the day I take my keys, get into my car, and drive to my favourite supermarket to get my groceries. Until then, I will wait and see, and use the services of our driver.
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Sad but still progress
Posted by Bushra at 16:46 UAE time
It is very sad that we at this time are at a point were we have to celebrate the fact that women are given back a right which which was never for anyone to take from them in the first place. This has been one of the issues amongst others that have caused the majority of Muslims great deal of disturbance because it has been linked to our religion. It has trivilised our great religion to being a set of orders that restricts normal human behaviour.
However I guess it should be celebrated as another milestone in the journey to display and practice our religion in its essence and not by the muddled picture created over the years by better knowing religious interpreters.
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Posted on Tuesday, 22 January 2008
Driving the Freedom
Posted by T Crowe Semler at 12:05 UAE time
Saudi Women are free from the burdened of laws which were constructed to "protect" them. Saudi men are now free from having to escort / watch every move a women family member outside of the home. I can only wonder how much "down-time" from productivity was consumed by this traditional system and now how much productivity will increase from lifting these restrictions. The driving ban created hardship especially for Rural Saudi Women, Women with much older husbands, and those families of less affluent means (ability to hire a driver or having to take-off time from work to drive the women). I suspect the transition will be a little "bumpy" especially in the major urban centers such as Riyadh however the new freedom will soon be very comfortable for the people...Insha'Allah.
Congradulations to all the Saudi People for this historic event and to King Abdullah and his great wisdom...Masha'Allah
I am your brother, T Crowe O'Rourke Semler
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My turn.
Posted by Osama A. at 09:55 UAE time
Note to the Editor: I thought news media companies should have the right to post whatever they feel is right according to their collective thoughts rather than be ill construed and dictated by one user comment. I have nothing against Mr. Rashid, but as a Middle Eastern man myself I have at least the open mind to accept perspectives from any view regardless who wrote the article. I advise Mr. Rashid to also keep an open mind when it comes to trivial issues and be thankful that he isn't bound by backward ideologies or else he wouldn't be having internet access today.
Editor's reply: We of course have a view on the news and we use comment and opinion pieces to express these. News is news, however, and should be without bias.
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beat the ban
Posted by Abusidra at 09:22 UAE time
Mostly your writers are western and doen't have much knowledge about the culture, tradition and religion. With their shallow experience and information, they like the whole world to believe that only driving cars, coming out of the viels etc is freedom, whereas they dont want to realise that women have more value, importance and respect in this region while compared to the west where mostly obscenity, adultery, drugs etc are promoted as freedom. The crime rates speak for itself.
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Saudi women get freedom to drive
Posted by Hombil at 08:54 UAE time
Atlast Saudis are moving in the right direction and congrats to the Saudi women to have won this long fought battle.
To Rashid, please don't go by the title of the story. You should be happy that Saudi women will now have the freedom to drive, for which they have fought for so many years.
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article title.
Posted by rashid s. at 04:05 UAE time
Your headline sound like a colonial journal from post world war. It is disgusting the way you advocate about the region from a western perspective. I will make sure not only do i stop reading this site as well as colleagues and friends.
Editors' reply: It is not our intention in a news story to editorialise, whatever our personal viewpoints. Given the headline could be construed in that way we have changed the it from 'beat the ban', to given the 'freedom to drive' to reflect just the facts. Thank you Rashid.
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