Apocalyptic Scenario – Women Drive in Saudi Arabia
By:   //  News Briefs, World News

If you’re a woman in the ultraconservative Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, hopping in your car to run down to the grocery store is not something you do. Until today, that is. Activists have been promoting October 26 as the day female citizens get behind the wheel and defy the wishes of the powerful religious clerics who control the country.

While women driving in the Kingdom is not specifically prohibited by law, women are not issued a license because the clerics fear an outbreak of “licentiousness.” For those without a dictionary close at hand, licentiousness refers to a lack of moral discipline, especially in regard to sexual conduct, and is a term the rest of the world does not normally associate with driving a car.

So far, four women have been documented driving by the activists. Despite warnings that anyone disturbing the public order would be dealt with harshly, police have not stopped or harassed any of the women. The online petition campaign to allow women to get behind the wheel has more than 16,000 signatures to date. The women defying the ban obtained a legal driver’s license from abroad.

The campaign has posted a four-minute video of May Al Sawyan driving her car to the grocery store. It can be seen at the website www.Oct26driving.org, though hackers have tried to keep the site down. (Derek Dowell – VNN) (Image: Flickr | Denis Bocquet)

About the Author :