Saudi woman detained for defying driving ban

Source: Associated Press

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Authorities detained a Saudi woman on Saturday after she launched a campaign against the driving ban for women in the ultraconservative kingdom and posted a videotape of herself behind the wheel on Facebook and YouTube to encourage others to copy her.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Saudi-woman-detained-for-defying-driving-ban-1389902.php

It seems no matter how badly women are treated in so much of the world still stuck in the 7th century...nobody cares.

But they are a strong US "ally" (oilly?) and hence our government will never criticize their repression.

I thought we cared.

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And even when we do it almost never accomplishes anything..

You might recall the 2003 Iraq war protests and what the eventual outcome was.

What were you expecting during that time frame?

An instant huge scrum all over this thread saying how evil the parts of the world "still stuck in the 7th century" are?

How much of the world is "still stuck in the 7th century", by the way?

JEDDAH — A top Saudi cleric challenged a ban on women driving on Tuesday, saying women should be allowed more social participation in the puritanical Islamic state.

Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by Al Saud family in alliance with clerics from the strict Wahhabi school of Islam. Women must be covered from head to toe and are not allowed to drive.

"Clerics have studied the issue and no one has come up with a (Koran) verse that would forbid female driving...," said Ahmad al-Ghamdi, head of the Mecca region's Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

"I do not consider it to be forbidden," he told journalists on the sidelines of a women's empowerment event in Jeddah.

Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40436673/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/t/senior-saudi-cleric-questions-women-driving-ban/

Kidding! KIDDING!

:eyes:

:eyes:

By Yahoo! Maktoob
DUBAI (Yahoo!) - Saudi Arabia's controversial ban on women drivers was one of the hot topics of discussion in social media as people debated gender inequality on International Women's Day.

"Saudi Arabia fuels most of the world's cars and yet it bans half of its population from driving," said @monaeltahawy in a Twitter message.

While some called on women in the oil-rich kingdom to defy the ban, others argued how the measure goes against the principles of Islam as women during the time of the Prophet Muhammad used transport animals.

"Women rode camels/horses alone at (the) time of (the) prophet ergo had mobility ergo should drive cars today," reads a tweet by @Sambousak.

Full article: http://en.news.maktoob.com/20090000617140/Women_lash_out_at_Saudi_driving_ban/Article.htm

A Saudi housewife protested her nation's driving ban by taking to the roads – for four days straight.

In Saudi Arabia, where women are banned from driving, one woman is starting a movement. Najla al-Hariri revved up her mission with a four-day spin around the Red Sea city of Jeddah. She took to the streets to set an example for her daughter and, really, all women across Saudi Arabia. There was no hazard with Hariri hopping in the driver's seat, as the housewife in her 30s has indeed held a license before, while living in Egypt and Lebanon.

This is not the first time that Saudi women have flouted the driving ban, and in fact, the Saudi government has discussed doing away with the ban as recently as January. But the ancient Salafist customs of Islam remain law in that country, meaning that women aren't allowed to travel without permissions from their male guardian – and aren't even allowed to have a driver's license. It may not be surprising, then, that Saudi Arabia was ranked 128th out of 138 nations for gender equality in the United Nations' 2010 Human Development Report.

The driving defiance is catching on though, leading a group of women to call for an online rally. A Facebook event titled “I will drive starting June 17” is rallying Saudi women to take the wheel, attracting more than 2,000 women so far. Could these women be steering Saudi Arabia into a new, more equal future?

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/05/16/rebel-on-the-road-saudi-woman-protests-driving-ban/#ixzz1N1UkS100

Now That? is Courage.

K&R for my Saudi Sister. :patriot: