Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia - Mobility

Mobility

Further information: women to drive movement

Women’s freedom of movement is very limited in Saudi Arabia. They are not supposed to leave their houses or their local neighborhood without the permission of their male guardian, and company of a mahram (close male relative). However, out of necessity most women leave the house alone and often have contact with unrelated men to shop or conduct business.

Women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, although it is often tolerated in rural areas. Saudi Arabia has no written ban on women driving, but Saudi law requires citizens to use a locally issued license while in the country. Such licenses are not issued to women, thus making it effectively illegal for women to drive. Furthermore, most Saudi scholars and religious authorities have declared women driving haram (forbidden). Commonly given reasons for the prohibition on women driving include:

1. Driving a car involves uncovering the face.
2. Driving a car may lead women to go out of the house more often.
3. Driving a car may lead women to have interaction with non-mahram males, for example at traffic accidents.
4. Women driving cars may lead to overcrowding the streets and many young men may be deprived of the opportunity to drive.
5. Driving would be the first step in an erosion of traditional values, such as gender segregation.

Women are generally discouraged from using public transport. It is technically forbidden, but unenforced, for women to take taxis or hire private drivers, as it results in khalwa (illegal mixing with a non-mahram man). Women have limited access to bus and train services. Where it is allowed, they must use a separate entrance and sit in a back section reserved for women. But the bus companies with the widest coverage in Riyadh and Jeddah do not allow women at all.

Critics reject the ban on driving on the grounds that 1) it is not supported by the Qu'ran, 2) it causes violation of gender segregation customs, by needlessly forcing women to take taxis with male drivers, 3) it is an inordinate financial burden on families, causing the average woman to spend 30 percent of her income on taxis, 4) it impedes the education and employment of women, both of which tend to require commuting. In addition, male drivers are a frequent source of complaints of sexual harassment, and the public transport system is widely regarded as unreliable and dangerous.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has said that he wants women to drive when the society is ready for it:

I believe strongly in the rights of women. My mother is a woman. My sister is a woman. My daughter is a woman. My wife is a woman. I believe the day will come when women will drive. In fact if you look at the areas of Saudi Arabia, the desert, and in the rural areas, you will find that women do drive. The issue will require patience. In time I believe that it will be possible. I believe that patience is a virtue.

On Nov. 6th, 1990, about 20 Saudi women illegally drove the streets of Riyadh in protest of the ban on Saudi women drivers. The women were eventually surrounded by curious onlookers and stopped by traffic cops, who took them into custody. They were released after their male guardians signed statements that they would not drive again, but thousands of leaflets with their names and their husbands' names - with "whores" and "pimps" scrawled next to them - circulated around the city. The women were suspended from jobs, had their passports confiscated, and were told not to speak to the press. About a year after the protest, they returned to work and received their passports, but they were kept under surveillance and passed over for promotions.

In 2008, advocates for the right of women to drive in Saudi Arabia collected about 1,000 signatures, hoping to persuade King Abdullah to lift the ban, but they were unsuccessful.

On International Women's Day 2008, the Saudi feminist activist Wajeha al-Huwaider posted a YouTube video of herself driving in a rural area (where it is tolerated), and requesting a universal right for women to drive. She commented: "I would like to congratulate every group of women that has been successful in gaining rights. And I hope that every woman that remains fighting for her rights receives them soon." Another women's driving campaign started during the 2011 Saudi Arabian protests. Al-Huwaider filmed Manal al-Sharif driving in Khobar and the video was published on YouTube and Facebook. As of May 2011, the campaign proposes that women start driving from 17 June 2011.

Skepticism is common about possible change in Saudi Arabia's deeply religious and patriarchal society, where many believe that allowing women the right to drive could lead to Western-style openness and an erosion of traditional values.

In early 2010, the government began considering a proposal to create a nation-wide women-only bus system. Activists are divided on the proposal, some saying it will reduce sexual harassment and transportation expenses, while facilitating women entering the workforce. Others criticize it as an escape from the real issue of recognizing women's right to drive.

Many of the laws controlling women apply to citizens of other countries who are relatives of Saudi men. For example, the following women require a male guardian's permission to leave the country: American-citizen women married to Saudi men, adult American-citizen women who are the unmarried daughters of Saudi fathers, and American-citizen boys under the age of 21 with a Saudi father.

In July 2011 a woman from Jeddah was sentenced to ten lashes by whip for driving a car. In contrast to this punishment activists pointed out that the maximum penalty for a traffic violation was a fine. Previously when women were found driving they would normally be questioned and forced to sign a pledge stating they will never drive again. The whipping sentence followed a campaign in June to push for women's rights to drive as well as just two days after King Abdullah made a promise to protect women's rights. King Abdullah overturned the sentence.