Lifting the Driving Ban?

Last week, a group of over a thousand prominent Saudi women petitioned King Abdullah for the right to drive, supporting their plea with evidence of the changing economic landscape in Saudi Arabia and pointing out the lack of explicit religious reasoning barring it.

This isn't the first time the debate has come up. In one of the more infamous events in the history of Saudi civil disobedience, wealthy Saudi women took advantage of the increased media presence in Riyadh during Gulf War I, "borrowed" cars, and drove through the streets in 1990. The repercussions of this protest were drastic and long-lasting. In addition to causing a number of car accidents and backing up traffic, the women involved were jailed, deported, and socially ostracized. The protest also unintentionally set back the right to drive movement, reinforcing the stereotype that women were incapable of driving well or safely and could not be trusted behind the wheel.

Though no explicit religious reasoning exists that bars women the right to drive, some religious leaders have argued that Saudi society will irreparably suffer if women drive. Women will be involved in more car accidents (see the 1990 protest), have more contact with the police, have improper contact with men, will "go wayward," possibly be taken advantage of, and will just generally require more monitoring to ensure that social norms aren't completely lost with this new freedom.

Yet the right to drive movement now has additional support given the changing economic environment in Saudi Arabia. With more women working, the need for women to drive has significantly increased. More women working means more women have economic clout, given their contributions to the family income and standard of living. Additionally, the cost of hiring a driver is quite high for most families in Saudi Arabia, and the unneccesary expense could easily be cut by granting women the right to drive.

Check out Reuters' take and AP's coverage here.