The Royal Order That Lifted the Ban on Women Driving in Saudi Arabia
The royal order that lifted the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia could not have come at a better time. The lift on this ban was a reprieve to the many who felt disfranchised by the discriminatory rule that selectively allowed men to drive while locking out the woman in the society. It would be interesting to find out the intrigues that played behind the scenes to accommodate the evil thoughts of banning women from driving and the role played by women to fight for their rights to a point where they are allowed to drive today.
The Impact of the Ban on Women
For decades, women who were found driving in Saudi Arabia faced arrests and detentions for breaking the rule that was attached to the religious beliefs in the society. What the explanation provides was that women were not allowed to walk alone, therefore, were always required to have a man by their sides to accompany them whenever they are going. By banning driving, women were limited to always walk with their husbands who were solely responsible for taking them wherever they wanted to go. This limit to the freedoms of movement did not come at a free cost; it had explicit social and economic impact in Saudi Arabia as a whole.
The Role of Religion and Obedience
While the government was aware of the economic disadvantage of banning women from driving, its hands were tied to playing along due to the strict obedience to the Muslim Religion which does not recognize the same rights for women and men. According to tote Muslim religious teachers (Imams) in Saudi, men are required to lead their wives whereas women were solely responsible for submission to their husbands’ rules and commands. The path to acquisition of the rights and freedom to drive by women was not easy. It is a fight and struggles that started years before, culminating in series and sessions of media and legal battles that led to the eventual admission by the government that it did not harm for the women to be allowed to drive.
Challenging Intellectual Capacity
Some of the Saudi clerics dismissed the women’s acquisition of the rights to drive on an intellectual premise. The clerics claimed that the women lacked the same intellectual capacity as men; therefore they could not be trusted to take proper control of the car when they are driving. Women sought to dismiss this notion by engaging in an intellectual challenge with men. They enrolled in schools and colleges in large numbers, some of who even topped their classes that composed of males. The step that women made in attending schools, colleges and universities to get knowledge set the channel o for the proof that women had the same intellectual capacity as men.
Women in Leadership and Politics
The decision by women to take men head-on in many spheres of life such as educational and political office facilitated the race in lifting the ban on driving by women. As days went by, women started engaging in poetical activities and seeking elective posts that were previously left for men. They posed a great challenge in the political arena even some emerging victorious and dislodged men from the political posts that they previously held. By engaging in the governance and the public administrations, women set a precedent that they aware jus equal men and that there was no need to ban them from driving. The women decided to take up leadership position was a clear statement that they were just as strong as men and therefore should not be banned to drive.
Social Media Mobilization
The war on the women seeking to drive found its way in the leading social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. There was massive social media mobilization of different groups and movements, some even calling for the freedom of women rights. The social media proved very effective since the information found its way to the print and televised media houses which proved very effective for the presentation of the women appeal to be allowed to drive in the city. The social media outcry by women groups was also joined by some civil groups that escalated this fight directly to the government by seeking meeting and discussions by the Arabian King.
Peaceful Protests and Demonstrations
The public outcry by women to gain their rights to drive found its way in the streets through peaceful protests and demonstrations. The peaceful demonstration by women groups, civil societies and various NGOs in the Saudi Arabian capital staging for the equal rights of women helped in bringing sanity to the government through peaceful petitions to the government in allowing the women to drive in the city. These demonstrations and picketing were initially seen as a violation of the code of conduct by the women who were only clamoring for representation and their rights.
The Influence of Religion
While women themselves mainly orchestrated the fight for the freedom of women to drive, it is also true that the stringent religious measures had for a long time tied the government's hands that limited driving to men. For instance, while they could not prove any existence of evidence in banning driving for women in the Quran, there were claims that women were impure since they went through their monthly menses which made them impure. However, these claims were mere witch-hunt to limit the freedom of women to drive and gifting men the predominant control over their wives and daughters. The government, in fear of offending the religious groups, decided to sacrifice the economic benefits that would accrue from allowing women to drive therefore letting the pretentious religious principles take hold. Thanks to Prince Khaled bin Salman who lifted this ban and brought a new dawn to the lives of many women in Saudi Arabia.
