Get the popcorn, defrost the Coke, and grab a seat and tune to Twitter: cause today was the day we were waiting for Saudi women to make history ! A campaign was started on Facebook asking all Saudi women to drive their cars in the streets of Saudi Arabia as an objection to the ban on driving, making Saudi Arabia the only country in the world that doesn't allow women to drive.
FYI, this isnt the first time that brave Saudi women took to the streets. This happened in November 1990 when 47 brave women drove their cars in Riyadh. Nothing happened of corse and it only got worse for these poor women, passports were confiscated, businesses closed, and husbands and fathers were ridiculed and taunted as not being able to "control their women" !
After watching closely the tweets unfold the action through the hashtag #women2drive , it seems nothing has changed much since the last incident 21 years ago except that the reaction was less fierce and only included a slap on the wrist, signing a pledge not to drive again, and a traffic ticket:
Which was a lot less than what Manal Al-Sherif suffered when she was detained for many days, not even allowed to go out to visit her sick hospitalized son!
My personal opinion to not acting strongly today was the pressure the USA and Human Rights have recently been putting pressure on Saudi Arabia regarding allowing women to drive. Let's wait and see if tomorrow will bring more light on the goverment's reaction.
The Western media had a great time with this story. BBC were looking for people to talk to over the radio , TIME , SKY News , and even Al-Arabiya (being a Saudi owned news channel) had a report about today. So congratulations Saudi women, you have been heard and seen and the world is now behind you. Lots of countries even started a "Honk for Saudi women" campaign and published many videos on Youtube, including American racer Leilani Munter !
FYI, this isnt the first time that brave Saudi women took to the streets. This happened in November 1990 when 47 brave women drove their cars in Riyadh. Nothing happened of corse and it only got worse for these poor women, passports were confiscated, businesses closed, and husbands and fathers were ridiculed and taunted as not being able to "control their women" !
After watching closely the tweets unfold the action through the hashtag #women2drive , it seems nothing has changed much since the last incident 21 years ago except that the reaction was less fierce and only included a slap on the wrist, signing a pledge not to drive again, and a traffic ticket:
Which was a lot less than what Manal Al-Sherif suffered when she was detained for many days, not even allowed to go out to visit her sick hospitalized son!
My personal opinion to not acting strongly today was the pressure the USA and Human Rights have recently been putting pressure on Saudi Arabia regarding allowing women to drive. Let's wait and see if tomorrow will bring more light on the goverment's reaction.
The Western media had a great time with this story. BBC were looking for people to talk to over the radio , TIME , SKY News , and even Al-Arabiya (being a Saudi owned news channel) had a report about today. So congratulations Saudi women, you have been heard and seen and the world is now behind you. Lots of countries even started a "Honk for Saudi women" campaign and published many videos on Youtube, including American racer Leilani Munter !
Lots of Saudi men (surprise, surprise!) were not happy about that. Saying that the reason women dont drive is of respect to her and that she is like a "diamond" and that the delicate society and its customs dont allow this. Personally, I dont think it has to do with any of that but to the fact that Saudi women are becoming more successful and more intelligent day by day, which of course translated to power. This power is threatening to these men who were raised and grew up that a man is "flawless" and is above the woman and that she has to listen and obey no matter what. Well guess what, those days are gone and if you want to be respected and obeyed you have to earn it. The same way Saudi women have built their own respect and power over the past 30 years or more.
Am I sounding too feminist? I hope I'm not turning into Mona El-Tahawi who - FYI - I hate and she irritates the shitt out of me! Everywhere I go or turn or read she is there with her sly smile preaching about the Arab rise and Arab women rights. To me, she is just a power parasite who is just attaching herself to whatever hot topic there is to gain more spotlight. Anyway, let's not drift off I just wanted to put in this "I hate Mona El-Tahawy" anywhere.
To wrap this up, I am going to throw in my 2 cents worth here. Which may not appeal to many (or some) of you. I don't think that allowing women to drive right away is the right solution at the moment (I hear gasps everywhere). For such a closed community, suddenly allowing this burst of freedom will cause chaos everywhere. I am not Saudi but I lived there for 32 years and I KNOW how it is. I have lived in both Jeddah and Riyadh and understand allot about the way of life and how people think.
How can you allow women to drive when you still ban singles from entering malls in fear that they will turn into werewolves and harass the women inside? How can you allow them to drive when you still dont allow cinemas which can be a great time waster for guys instead of cruising the streets and chasing cars? Things have to come gradually. If you stop viewing the Saudi youth as Testosterone crazed humpers , start placing fierce laws for cat calling and harassment, and allowing people to interact and function normally at public places like malls, then we might have a chance to ease the society into accepting women to drive without causing a stir.
I now leave you with videos posted today showing these brave Saudi women who took to the streets to show and say "YES we can".
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