Women in Saudi Arabia are finally taking their place behind the wheel.
In September 2017, the kingdom announced a royal decree that would roll back the policy
that confined women to being transported by male relatives or paying for a driver.
The last ban on women driving in the world officially ended on June 24 2018, when women
were allowed to enroll in driving school and be issued driver's licenses.
“Everybody was waiting that day to see the first woman in the state to drive, it was
just an amazing, amazing feeling.”
Human rights groups hailed it a victory for women, but some some have questioned the true
motives behind the reform, and whether it goes far enough in advancing women’s rights
in the kingdom.
I’m Alex, this is NowThis World, and on this episode we’re discussing the lift of
the driving ban, and speaking to a human rights campaigner and a Saudi lawyer and entrepreneur,
who recently got her own license.
about how this move affects women, and whether more reforms are on the horizon.
“I did not believe it until, on the 24th, I really felt that, ‘Oh my God, this is
really happening.’
And the minute I drove my car, it was 8:30 in the morning, I drove to a cafe and the
minute I parked my car and went in, people started clapping.”
Sofana Dahlan is a Saudi social entrepreneur and one of the kingdom’s first women lawyers.
“You know, if you asked me in 2014, ‘will women be able to drive?’
I would have said, ‘I don’t think so.’
So having all these changes happen, really lifts up our spirits.”
Indeed, ending the longstanding driving ban on women was previously low on the royal family’s
priority list.
That position was solidified by some conservative clerics, who lend legitimacy to the royal
family.
One infamously told a local news site in 2013 that a woman driving a car could “affect
a woman’s ovaries and push the pelvis upwards.”
He falsely claimed that women who drive have children with “clinical problems of varying
degrees.”
But things started to change after a recent shakeup in the ruling structure.
In June 2017, King Salman ousted his nephew, who was then next in line for the throne,
and replaced him with his son, Mohammed bin Salman, referred to by many as “MBS.”
The Crown Prince was given sweeping powers and tasked with modernizing the Saudi economy
and transforming its cultural image.
That included promises to return the kingdom to “moderate Islam,” lifting the ban on
movie theatres and public concerts, and arresting dozens of princes and ministers in an alleged
anti-corruption sweep.
Beyond lifting the driving ban, there have been several women-focused reforms, like a
new rule that allows women to join the military – reportedly in non-combat roles – attend
soccer games, start businesses without permission from a man, as well as his declaration in
an interview with 60 Minutes that women shouldn’t necessarily have to wear the black abaya.
“The laws are very clear, and stipulated in the laws of Sharia, that women wear decent,
respectful clothing like men.
This, however, does not particularly specify a black abaya, or a black head cover, the
decision is entirely left for women to decide.”
But beyond the human rights aspect, rolling back the driving ban is also expected to give
the economy a boost.
One survey of about 400 Saudi women by recruitment firm GulfTalent showed that more than 80%
of women plan to drive by then end of 2018.
A Bloomberg analysis found that economic factors driven by the reform, like increased participation
of women in the workforce, could contribute as much as $90 billion to the kingdom’s
economic output by 2030.
The rollback also opened up a slew of new job opportunities for women, including with
the popular ride hailing services Uber and Careem, which started recruiting women drivers
after the rollback was announced in 2017.
Women reportedly comprise between 70 and 80% of the apps’ customer bases, some of whom
say there are many benefits to being driven by a woman, including feeling safer and generally
more supported
"There are so many women who would love to get into the car and have like just that female
moment.
It’s here!"
Prominent figures in Western media have hailed the 32-year-old prince as a reformer.
He even landed a spot on the Time’s 2018 “Top 100 Most Influential People list.”
And 60 Minutes called him a revolutionary who is “emancipating women.”
But some argue that these reforms are just a smokescreen.
They say that the kingdom’s economic goals, to create a self-sufficient kingdom while
weaning off of oil dependency, are driving them, rather than a human rights agenda.
And that they’re just a way for the Crown Prince to consolidate power.
They point to the example that he’s also been involved in detaining those who are outspoken
on women's’ rights issues, like, ironically, the driving ban.
“If the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and the Saudi Arabian government were serious
about protecting women’s rights and promoting gender equality in the kingdom, then they
need to release the women’s rights activists who remain in detention.”
Hadid and other human rights groups say the activists could face up to 20 years in prison
if tried in the counter-terrorism court, which some local media have reported they will be.
As recently as May and June of 2018, Saudi authorities arrested more than a dozen activists,
including some tied to a famous 1990 demonstration, in which 47 women drove through the streets
of Riyadh in protest.
One Saudi scholar attributes these arrests to the kingdom wanting to prevent activists
from speaking out about the ban, so that they get all the credit.
Rights groups are calling on the Crown Prince to free the activists, as well as loosen up
other restrictions against women still in place in the kingdom, like the still mostly-intact
male guardianship system.
Under the male guardianship system, in order for adult women to do things like open a savings
account, study or travel abroad, and marry, they need permission from a father, brother,
husband, uncle, or even son.
The system keeps Saudi women, according to Human Rights Watch, as permanent legal minors
in the eyes of the kingdom.
But Dahlan says it’s important to point out here the common media narrative painting
Saudi women as universally oppressed and abused, is not representative of every Saudi woman’s
experience.
“Saudi women are no different than any women in the world, not a single different.
There are some that are going through troubles in their marriages, there are some that are
abused, but there are some that are very empowered, there are some that are very strong, there
are some that are very successful.”
Indeed, there’s a higher representation of women serving in the national legislature
in Saudi than even here in the U.S.
And despite the fact many question Mohammed bin Salman motives, there are those that say,
it doesn’t really matter the reason.
Reforms that give people fundamental human rights are
still reforms.