Saudi Arabia driving ban on women to be lifted

Saudi Arabia has finally taken a huge step toward the 21st century. The only country left on the planet that forbade women from driving, the Gulf kingdom has announced that women will be freely allowed to obtain driver’s licenses and drive as they wish next year. One of the activists who’s been pushing for the change, Sahar Nassif proclaimed she was “very, very excited – jumping up and down and laughing. I’m going to buy my dream car, a convertible Mustang, and it’s going to be black and yellow!”

The US Ambassador, Prince Kahled bin Salman confirmed that early rumors stating women would still need permission from a male to take driving lessons were untrue, and that female motorists will be able to drive anywhere they wish. He declared it was “a historic day… the right decision at the right time.”

Another activist, Manal al-Sharif, who helped organized the Women2Drive campaign, had been previously imprisoned for simply operating a vehicle as a female. She tweeted that “Saudi Arabia will never be the same again. The rain begins with a single drop.” Al-Sharif’s tweet mirrors the sentiment of many who point out that despited the win here, Saudi Arabia still has a long way to go in matters of gender equality. Amnesty International’s Philip Luther pointed out this is “just one step… We also need to see a whole range of discriminatory laws and practices swept away…” in the country.

To give you a glimpse into the mindset of the religious conservatives who oppose this decree, they have been quoted as saying “they are too stupid to drive” and that their doing so will “lead to intolerable mingling of the sexes.”

Obviously, we want to see everybody behind the wheel, enjoying the right as much as we do. Hopefully this step will fuel the fire needed to bring Saudi Arabia into the modern age and give their women the same rights and opportunities as the men.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41408195