Women to drive movement

The logo of the women to drive movement

Until June 2018, Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world in which women were forbidden from driving motor vehicles.[1] The Women to Drive Movement (Arabic: قيادة المرأة في السعودية, romanized: qiadat almar'at fi alsueudia, lit. 'Women Driving in Saudi Arabia') was a campaign by Saudi women, whom the government denies many rights to which men are entitled,[2] for the right to drive motor vehicles on public roads. Dozens of women drove in Riyadh in 1990 and were arrested and had their passports confiscated.[3] In 2007, Wajeha al-Huwaider and other women petitioned King Abdullah for the right to drive,[4] and a film of al-Huwaider driving on International Women's Day 2008 attracted international media attention.[3][5][6]

In 2011, the Arab Spring motivated some women[7][8] including al-Huwaider and Manal al-Sharif, to organise a more intensive campaign, and about seventy cases of women driving were documented in the latter half of June.[9][10][11] In late September, Shaima Jastania was sentenced to ten lashes for driving in Jeddah, although the sentence was later overturned.[12][13] Two years later, another campaign to defy the ban targeted 26 October 2013 as the date for women to start driving. Three days before, in a "rare and explicit restating of the ban", an Interior Ministry spokesman warned that "women in Saudi [Arabia] are banned from driving and laws will be applied against violators and those who demonstrate support."[14] Interior Ministry employees warned leaders of the campaign individually not to drive on 26 October, and police road blocks were assembled in Riyadh to check for women driving.[15]

On 26 September 2017, King Salman finally issued an order to allow women to drive, with new guidelines to be created and implemented by June 2018.[16] Women to drive campaigners were ordered not to contact media and in May 2018, several, including Loujain al-Hathloul, Eman al-Nafjan, Aisha Al-Mana, Aziza al-Yousef and Madeha al-Ajroush, were detained.[17][18] The ban was officially lifted on 24 June 2018, but many of the women's rights activists remained under arrest.[19] As of 23 August 2018, twelve remained in detention.[20][needs update]

  1. ^ Bashraheel, Laura (27 June 2009). "Women's transport: Solutions needed". Arab News. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference hrw_womensrights was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference BBC_huwaider was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference USState_huwaider was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference cv_huwaider was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference ABCUS_huwaider was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference guardian_29jun2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference nyt_reputation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Guard_17June was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference alNafjan_29jun2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference alarabiya_50_17june was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference NPR_lashes_revoked was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Forbes_lashes_revoked was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Casey, Mary. "Saudi Arabia issues warning against women's driving campaign". October 25, 2013. Foreign Policy magazine. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference theguardian.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ "Saudi women 'to be allowed driving licences'". BBC News. 26 September 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference HRW_Nafjan_Hathloul_arrest was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference AJE_Nafjan_Hathloul_arrest was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC_drivingallowed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference Amnesty_100days_womenarrested was invoked but never defined (see the help page).