Amidst all the tragedy in the news this week, it is important to highlight a positive story that is recently affecting women in Saudi Arabia.
On Tuesday September 26, 2017, a remarkable moment in Saudi Arabia women’s history took place. The Saudi Foreign ministry announced that it would finally lift its ban and become the last country to grant women the right to drive.
Prior to this right being granted, women needed male permission to get a licence and could only drive if a male was present in the car with them.
In an interview with CNN, Kholoud Attar, a Saudi designer and magazine owner, described how this is a huge victory for women in Saudi Arabia.
“Being able to drive really facilitates a lot of logistics and helps with shaving off the time to get things done,” Attar explains. For over ten years she had been running to work, so she is excited to have now have a more convenient mode of transportation.
Saudi women are also excited about being able to keep the portion of their pay-cheque that was previously being spent on male drivers and services such as Uber to take them to their destination. Attar said that almost a third of her female employees’ monthly salary was spent only on driving services.
In The New York Times last week, Manal al-Sharif, a women’s rights activist and co-founder of the Women2Drive campaign in Saudi Arabia, expressed overwhelming joy over the news. Manal al-Sharif is most well-known for having been arrested in Saudi Arabia for posting a video of herself driving on YouTube. Despite attempts to stop her, al-Sharif continues to fight for equality in the Middle East and says that her next campaign will involve ending guardianship laws in Saudi Arabia.
Above is a photo of a Saudi Arabian, Faisal BaDughaish, teaching his wife how to drive – legally.
Although to most of us the right to drive may seem like only a small victory, to Saudi Arabian women this battle has been going on for too long. This is a huge step in their extensive fight for equality. The battle is certainly not over, and Saudi Arabian women will continue to fight for their rights and equality, but this victory is definitely one to celebrate.
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Sources:
https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/26/16369798/saudi-arabia-womens-rights-driving-ban-lifted-uber
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/27/middleeast/saudi-arabia-women-drive/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-women-drive.html
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/26/politics/saudi-arabia-woman-drive/index.html
Photo sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/27/middleeast/saudi-arabia-women-drive/index.html