Saturday, November 10, 2007

The lateset buzz on Saudi Women driving..

Lately there has been several articles in the media regarding Saudi women driving..
These are the links, it has started with this article by reuters:
.... foreign minister says women should drive

These are some parts of the article:
""Myself, I think they should drive. But (we) are not the ones who decide on that. It has to be the families who decide on that,"
............... it is a social issue. We believe that this is something for the families to decide, for the people to decide"

Then there was this article in The Saudi Gazette the Link:
Women try their Luck to get Driving License

So some Saudi women headed to local traffic departments to apply for drivers licenses.... they were told that they didn't receive "The Memo" ..

6 comments:

awshubbar said...

It really is getting old from the Saudi's... It's almost 2008...

It's not surprising how one government official makes an unofficial statement and almost immediatelly woman go to traffic departments and attempt to gain a driver licence.

Ultimately Saudi woman are going to have to resort to more forceful measures (violence?) to gain their rights...I don't see any other way

Great blog you got here...lokk forward to many more interesting posts : )

Lilliy said...

I see your point.. and I understand that to the outside world.. what is the image that the Saudi women are not trying hard enough.. but believe me that a step like that of a saudi women demanding to go to get boldly a drivers license is a very small step but still a step.. the amount of discouragement to saudi women comes most of the time from there own homes and family on top of those walls they hit when its not family.. we are an eastern arabic society and saudi on top of it.. where it is unacceptable for a man to live alone.. can you imagine how much harder it is on a women.. if she does something and she doesn't want to be dishonorable to her family because every action she makes it is reflected on her family .. where will she go? how much pressure she will have from the society and especially when every body backs off when it comes to the real thing and take their words back.. there are baby steps.. but at least there are some steps.. I hear about this subject more and more now from a lot of people in the main stream and the media that they accept the idea more and more ( which wasn't the case some years ago).. and thats a step in the right direction till it becomes part of our normal life..

Lilliy said...

and Ahmed I welcome your comments.. good to see you on my blog.. I find the topics in your blog very interesting as well.. I have visited Dubai ( and had even posted a slideshow podcast of Dubai on my podcasts) several times and was very amazed by all the progress and of what I seen.. I have also female friends that always tell about their life in Dubai always good things..

Anonymous said...

This topic has been discussed over and over again for ages now..
I guess it's time for a serious action about it.. just go for it Saudi women..
Wallah 7aram the kind of suppression and opression you're living.. Wallah 7aram

rosh said...

I hear you lilly - your words are honest sentiments of every women who wish to lead a normal life in an Arab society. Hence, I just don't get that in spite of increased education, awareness to external factors, the globe etc, the stigma continues to exists in KSA's society.

I do not understand the constant process of "walling" process i.e.I think that's where some people need to self-reflect, why throw a wall at someone for wanting to drive to work, wanting to drive their kids to school to go shopping/groceries etc?

I am sure KSA has it's beauty, am just not sure why KSA wishes to "hide" or perhaps suppress it's beauty/strength - a large portion of whom are able, independent women, such as yourself? We all live only once, freedom helps us live better.

Fingers crossed for "baby steps" towards success for all those souls in beautiful KSA.

Lilliy said...

IYM.. there is a lot of thought on what serious steps need to be done.. but in our society it always need to done in a certain manner or you will get a very reverse negative reaction.. to introduce this and start applying it in KSA it has to be done nice and slow..just like women education in saudi, and then abroad, then working...satellite TV.. Internet.. so people start accepting it and it wont be chaotic when we will start driving.. there is a big group in the general saudi public that doesn't accept it too.. the feel in saudi that it will happen soon thats why there is so much talk about in the media, the street and in homes.. we just have to continue talking about it and keep asking for it...

Rosh.. actually there was a study done in saudi about the impact of women not driving and how much it affects us.. socially, economically and financially.. that actually it is the answer to a lot of problems.. and was presented to officials.. there was also a petition presented too..

We just have to keep talking and asking till we get it..
Thanks all for your comments..