SAUDI ARABIA:Saudi Arabian women are mounting a challenge to the ban on female drivers in a rare sign of public opposition to the kingdom's ultra-conservative social mores.
The Committee of Demanders of Women's Right to Drive is to submit its petition to King Abdullah to mark Saudi national day next week. The appeal has sparked debate in the media, but there is said to be little immediate chance of it succeeding. The organisers are being careful to present it as a social, not a religious or political question.
"And since it's a social issue, we have the right to lobby for it," argued Fawziyyah al-Oyouni, a founding member of the committee. "This is a right that has been delayed for too long."
Activists circulating the petition by e-mail and on websites are relying on government statements and the fact no law explicitly states women may not drive.
The ban flows from a strict interpretation of the woman's need to be accompanied by a legal guardian in public. Islamic scholars argue that allowing women to drive would mean they might interact with non-related men. Critics say the alternative is to use drivers who are strangers.
The petition is the first action by the new Society for Protecting and Defending Women's Rights. This plans to tackle other issues such as domestic abuse.-