30, September 2017 Saudi Women Drivers
After decades of defiance by Saudi women activists, the Saudi kingdom has finally lifted the driving ban. There were no religious reasons for the ban as cars did not exist at the time of Mohammed. The kingdom gave some fuzzy reasons for restricting women from driving – arguing they lacked the mental dexterity, damage to the ovaries, distraction to male drivers and increase the likelihood of infidelity. In the early days of the faith, women were fiercely independent riding donkeys unsupervised, without being encumbered with head coverings.
The Al Saud ruling family must do more to distance itself from the “stone age” Wahhabi clerics who impose their ultra-strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Wahhabism is one of the ideological pillars of global jihadi terrorism.
Women continue to be an underused resource. More women attend universities than men but only make up 15% of the workforce. It is time to eliminate the wilayah (guardianship) system and the head to toe body covering which is likely to impact peripheral vision while driving. The Saudi kingdom must do much more to promote complete gender equality.
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