Saudi Arabia: The Women Who Dared to Drive

Saudi Arabia: The Women Who Dared to Drive

I’ve posted previously about the Saudi women who dared to drive on the streets of Riyadh in 1991. I have since come to know a few of these women and their families. They were kind enough to share some of the experiences which followed after their act. To begin with, not only were all the women rounded up and arrested after this attempt, but any men in the vicinity watching the women on the streets were also rounded up, arrested and questioned. The male family members of these women were arrested with most having to spend hours in the jail.

The women and their male family member(s) were questioned separately on the impetus why they chose to drove. Of course interrogators wanted full information on these women, their positions, their family and what positions the male family members held.

All of the women who took to the streets were professional women from good established and well-known families. The women also agreed among themselves that when they chose to drive they would all wear the hijjab and niqab. One woman wanted to forego and drive with her head uncovered and she was overruled.

The passports of the women and for those who were married, the passports of their husbands, were confiscated. The women were also prohibited from resuming their jobs or in the case of one woman, prohibited from returning to her studies. In most cases, this was enforced for a two year period. The women could not work, did not receive any pay or benefits. The woman who was a student was prohibited from coming to her university classes. Although an exception was made that she was eventually only allowed to come to the University in order to take exams but she could not participate in classes at all.

The men related to the women were placed under great pressure and observation. They were routinely called and directed to come to the Interior Ministry for questioning. Sometimes the questioning was direct and indicated a desire to keep abreast of their activities. Other times the questioning was more obscure. Regardless, noone refused to not make themselves available.

At the same time, the mosques, imams, scholars and sheiks publicly condemned the actions of the women and by default their families. It was implied the families had no control over their women and needed to be taught a lesson.

After the two year period one man had his and his wife’s passport returned to him although not before a lecture on the need to control his wife. What was his reaction after leaving the passport office? He went directly to the airport and bought a ticket on the first available flight out of the country just to savor that feeling again of being in control and having freedom.

Now in analysis of the 1991 action, there are many Saudis who view what happened as a probe. Let me explain…the belief is that the women who participated in the activity were in fact sanctioned to do so by certain members within the Saudi government with the endorsement of American officials in order to gage the reaction and effect of such an effort on the part of the Saudi woman. If the reaction had not been so strongly negative initiatives would likely have been taken towards paving the way for women to drive in the Kingdom. However the negative outcry illustrated that the time was not yet right for such a step to take place. So where does that leave us now and for today? Does it look as if women will be given the right to drive in Saudi Arabia? Or at least, officially be given the right to drive anywhere in the Kingdom like the men? In spite of King Abdullah’s positive talks and movements of reform, I personally doubt women driving will happen during his reign. Why you likely ask? The society and culture is still not ready. I think women driving would cause another chain reaction of chaos, outcry and outcast.

----American_Bedu Blog by delhi4cats