Saudi women turn to social media for the right to drive

[Gerald]

WATCH: Saudi Arabia's women are forced to rely on men to do the driving - which puts many jobs off-limits, and makes running a business almost impossible.

The video shows a young woman getting into her car for a spin around town with a friend. Giggling away, they sound excited yet nervous. And all the while, they comment on the reactions of passers-by.

So far, the story sounds uneventful. After all, millions of women across the world drive every day without a second thought.

Only the difference is, this video was shot by 28-year old Solafa from Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world that bans women from driving.

Driving change

On June 17, dozens of videos similar to Solafa's surfaced on the internet, all showing women behind the wheel in defiance of a ban that is not enforced by law but is a religious fatwa imposed by Muslim clerics.

It was a protest of a different kind - unlike the mass demonstrations that have been seen throughout the region this year, this was a campaign of just 50 women.

But one thing it has in common with the Arab protests is the role social media played.

Through Twitter and Facebook, the 'Women2Drive' campaign gave women a voice for other people to hear. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton openly supported their cause. Even some of the Saudi royals have backed what the women are doing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13928215

Note: 27 June 2011 Last updated at 23:07 GMT

[Penguin]

not everything in fundamentalist Islam is bad...

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Penguin

not everything in fundamentalist Islam is bad...

[Penguin]

Oh, by quoting you make it impossible to change my posting....

what if my Frau reads this thread? *in fear of castration*

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Penguin

Oh, by quoting you make it impossible to change my posting....

what if my Frau reads this thread? *in fear of castration*

Well,I do not think she relates to Islam

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by Vendor

Well,I do not think she relates to Islam

gladly not, but she insists she's the better driver than me - and I'm not allowed to drive her car... *poor oppressed Penguin*

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Penguin

gladly not, but she insists she's the better driver than me - and I'm not allowed to drive her car... *poor oppressed Penguin*

You may surprise her with something nice, so she gladly give you the keys to the car,

[Gerald]

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The religious police in Saudi Arabia arrested five women on Tuesday for driving in defiance of a ban on women getting behind the wheel in the conservative kingdom, according to activists and local media reports.

Saudi Women for Driving, an informal coalition of leading Saudi women’s rights activists, bloggers and academics, said in a statement that the women were arrested in Jidda, Saudi Arabia’s second-largest city.

“If Saudi police think arresting women drivers is going to stop what has already become the largest women’s rights movement in Saudi history, they are sorely mistaken,” the coalition said in a statement released by Change.org, a Web site where members can create and promote online petitions for social change. “On the contrary, these arrests will encourage more women to get behind the wheel in direct defiance of this ridiculous abuse of our most basic human rights.”

The coalition said that the religious police arrested four of the women when they were driving in the Dorat al Arous neighborhood in Jidda, a port city along the Red Sea. The four, ages 21 and 22 and riding in one car, were taken to a police station, where they signed a pledge not to drive again, the group’s report said. A fifth woman was arrested later Tuesday night while driving in the neighborhood of Suleimaniyah.

Eman Al Nafjan, a Saudi blogger and a member in the coalition, said that all the women have been released. “This will not scare us,” she said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/30/wo..._r=1&ref=world


Note: Update Record,Published: June 29, 2011