Emancipation

There is a landmark progress on the attitude towards Saudi women as the Rulers of the Al-Saud Kingdom of the Arabian sub-continent would be lifting the ban to allow the other half of Saudis to drive.

Women in Saudi Arabia will be allowed to drive, the government announced on Tuesday – ending their reign as the only nation in the world where women were forbidden from getting behind the wheel of a car.

The news was announced on state television and in a simultaneous media event in Washington, highlighting the damage that the policy has done to the kingdom’s international reputation and its hopes for a public relations benefit from the reform.

While there is no formal law banning women from driving, the government refuses to issue them permits. That will now change under the royal decree, which ordered the formation of a ministerial body to give advice within 30 days and then implement the order by June 2018.

The milestone was greeted with jubilation on social media, with the hashtag “Saudi women can drive” being used in a flood of tweets.

Amena Bakr, a Saudi energy analyst, said it was a “massive victory for women in the kingdom.”

“Really about time,” she added.

In Washington, the state department celebrated the news, describing it as “a great step in the right direction”.

Campaigners have for many years argued that women should be allowed to drive, saying that it makes virtual prisoners out of women who do not have a male family member or chauffeur to drive them around.

In June 2011, about 40 women got behind the wheel and drove in several cities in a protest sparked when Manal Sharif, one of the founders of the movement, was arrested and detained for 24 hours after posting a video of herself driving.

Another was arrested and sentenced to 10 lashes – a sentence later overturned by the king – and the rest were told to sign statements guaranteeing they would not drive again.

In October 2013, shortly after a prominent cleric claimed that medical studies showed driving damaged a woman’s ovaries, 60 women took part in a protest, driving in spite of warnings from the authorities.

In response, 150 clerics staged a demonstration outside the royal palace. The ministry warned against marches or gatherings under the pretext of the driving campaign. It said those “disturbing public peace” will be dealt with firmly.

Last year Human Rights Watch produced a report highlighting the range of restrictions that Saudi women face.

Adult women must obtain permission from a male guardian to travel, marry, or exit prison. They may be required to provide guardian consent in order to work or access healthcare. Women regularly face difficulty conducting a range of transactions without a male relative, from renting an apartment to filing legal claims.

“We all have to live in the borders of the boxes our dads or husbands draw for us,” said Zahra, a 25-year-old Saudi woman.

Progress has, however, been made.

In 2013, then-King Abdullah appointed 30 women to the Shura Council, his highest advisory body, and two years later women were allowed to both vote in and run for office in municipal council elections, for the first time in the country’s history.

In May his successor, King Salman, ordered that government agencies publish lists of services that women can access, without a male guardian present, and ordered that employers provide women with transport.

And according to the Saudi Ministry of Education, women in Saudi Arabia attend college at higher rates than men.

Yet it is still difficult for women to succeed, in part because of barriers placed by the Saudi system – something Tuesday’s ruling hopes to address.

The movement for women to drive has gained prominence with the rise in power of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a 32-year-old son of the king. who has laid out a far-reaching plan to reform the kingdom’s economy and society.

Furthermore, Saudi Arabia, hit by the fall of oil prices, is aware of the economic contribution that women could make.

Ensaf Haidar, wife of Saudi dissident Raif Badawi, tweeted a victory sign in response to the announcement.

Loujain Hathloul, a Saudi women’s rights activist who has been at forefront of movement, and spent 73 days in detention for driving in 2014, simply responded: “Praise God”

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It is most likely that the rules to obtain the permit to drive between sexes would be different but this is definitely a progress in a kingdom known to prohibit women based on strict and very conservative interpretation of the Arab customs and tradition.

Previously, women have been allowed to obtain flying license.

The Arab News story:

SAUDI ARABIA

Female Saudi pilot flies high

Riyadh: Ghazanfar Ali Khan | ARAB NEWS STAFF | Published — Monday 21 April 2014

A Saudi woman has become the first licensed female pilot in the Kingdom.

Thirty-five-year-old Hanadi Al-Hindi, who had battled kidney problems, acquired licensing from the Jeddah-based General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) to fly planes in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Hindi, who wears a headscarf, has begun flying small and wide-bodied luxury planes belonging to a fleet from the Kingdom Holding Company (KHC).

Khaled Al-Khaibary, a GACA spokesman, neither confirmed nor denied awarding the license to Al-Hindi, saying he would verify the information on Monday.

Al-Hindi, however, confirmed receipt of the license via telephone from the United States.

“Saudi women are capable of taking on any job previously held exclusively by men in Saudi Arabia,” she said.

Al-Hindi refused to divulge anymore information owing to contractual obligations and sensitivity surrounding the topic.

“I have, however, taken on a private initiative to counsel Saudi students in the US who are willing to pursue a career in aviation,” said Al-Hindi, who acquired a “Commercial Pilot’s License” (CPL) and an “Instrument Rating” (IR) from the Amman-based Mideast Aviation Academy in 2002. “Exciting opportunities await candidates in this field.”

Al-Hindi became the Kingdom’s first woman pilot after being hired by Kingdom Holding Company Chairman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. She became something of a celebrity after gaining her commercial pilot’s license way back in 2006.

Al-Hindi said that she was proud of herself and her family for supporting her in choosing this career.

Born and raised in Makkah, Al-Hindi faced opposition from her relatives after she decided to become a pilot.

Al-Hindi described her first solo flight in 2004 as the beginning of her dream career. “Two days after my solo flight, I discovered that my name was being mentioned all over the world and that I had become a celebrity,” she said in an earlier interview with Arab News.

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Emirates Women story about the progress of more lateral towards Saudi women:

Women’s Rights Are Changing In Saudi

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ALEXANDRIA GOUVEIA

on 29th Jun, 2016

In Saudi Arabia women aren’t allowed to drive a car (clerics claim it “undermines social values”); interact with men; try clothes while shopping or compete freely in sports, however this could all change in the near future.

As part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 – the kingdom’s post-oil economy plans – the country, and its monarchy are said to be changing restrictions on social policies.

Some of the changes have already come into affect, last December Saudi women were given the right to vote, and in April this year the strict religious police (the mutaween) – formally known as the Committee For The Promotion Of Virtue And The Prevention Of Vice – were stripped of their power to stop, question, pursue or arrest people.

Saudi’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – the third in line to the throne – has also hinted that the government may also be lifting the women’s driving ban, granting ladies permission to take charge behind the wheel.

Read: Saudi Prince Champions Women’s Rights

Read: Celebrity Shams Bandar Renounces Her Saudi Nationality

Read: Saudi Victoria’s Secret Model Talks Feminism

The hope is to make the region a more modern, tourist-friendly destination beyond oil dependance; with an aim is to attract 1.5 million tourists by 2020, and to boost the kingdom’s hospitality industry by more than half.

According to the Arabian Gulf States Institute in Washington, the Vision 2030 plan includes: “privatisation of a portion of the Saudi national oil company Aramco; the expansion of the resources and role of the Saudi Public Investment Fund; and the development of the country’s ports, cultural resources, and tourist sites to take advantage of its strategic position at the centre of the Arab and Islamic world.”

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The move comes after the country posted a US$98billion budget deficit last year – it is also expected to post a deficit of 14 per cent of gross domestic product this year, according to the IMF.

If the ‘vision’, and the change in the monarchy’s reform, allows women to have equal rights then we are certainly interested to hear more…

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