RIYADH, June 24, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Saudi women celebrated taking the wheel
for the first time in decades Sunday as the kingdom overturned the world’s
only ban on female motorists, a historic reform expected to usher in a new
era of social mobility.
The much-trumpeted move is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan
to modernise the conservative petrostate — but it has been dented by the
jailing of female activists who long opposed the driving ban.
Women in Riyadh and other cities began zipping around streets bathed in
amber light soon after the ban was lifted at midnight, with some blasting
music from behind the wheel.
“I feel free like a bird,” said talkshow host and writer Samar Almogren as
she cruised across the capital.
Television presenter Sabika al-Dosari called it “a historic moment for
every Saudi woman” before driving a sedan across the border to the kingdom of
Bahrain.
The lifting of the ban, long a glaring symbol of repression, is expected
to be transformative for many women, freeing them from dependence on private
chauffeurs or male relatives.
Euphoria was mixed with disbelief as women across the kingdom flooded
social media with videos of their maiden car rides, with a heavy presence of
policemen, some of whom distributed flowers to the first-time drivers.
“This is a great achievement,” billionaire Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin
Talal said as his daughter Reem drove a family SUV, with his granddaughters
applauding from the back seat.
“Now women have their freedom,” he added in a video posted on Twitter.
Many Saudi women ebulliently declared plans online to drive for coffee or
ice cream, a mundane experience elsewhere in the world but a dazzling novelty
in the desert kingdom.
“The jubilance, confidence and pride expressed by Saudi women driving for
the first time in their country, without fear of arrest, brought tears to my
eyes,” tweeted activist Hala al-Dosari, while lauding the jailed campaigners.
“I’m happy and relieved that… girls in Saudi will live a bit freer than
their mothers.”
But many women are keeping away, testing reactions in a society torn
between tradition and social change — and bracing for a possible backlash
from hardliners who have long preached that allowing female motorists would
promote promiscuity and sin.
– ‘Be gentle to women’ –
The decision to lift the ban was catalysed in large measure by what
experts characterise as economic pain in the kingdom owing to a protracted
oil slump.
The move is expected to boost women’s employment, and according to a
Bloomberg estimate, add $90 billion to economic output by 2030.
For now, the women taking to the roads appear mainly to be those who have
swapped foreign licences for Saudi ones after undergoing a practical test.
Some three million women in Saudi Arabia could receive licences and
actively begin driving by 2020, according to consultancy firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers.
A handful of female driving schools have cropped up in several cities,
training women to drive cars as well as Harley Davidson motorbikes — scenes
unimaginable even a year ago.
But many women fear they are still vulnerable to sexist attitudes in a
nation where male “guardians” — their fathers, husbands or other relatives –
– can exercise arbitrary authority to make decisions on their behalf.
The government has preemptively addressed concerns of abuse by outlawing
sexual harassment, and authorities have sternly warned against stalking women
drivers.
“To all men I say, be gentle towards women” drivers, popular Saudi singer
Mohammed Abdu said in an online video.
Prince Mohammed, appointed heir to the most powerful throne in the Middle
East a year ago this month, has also lifted a ban on cinemas and mixed-gender
concerts, following his public vow to return the austere kingdom to moderate
Islam.
– ‘Unrelenting crackdown’ –
However, much of the initial optimism over his reforms appears to have
been knocked by a major crackdown on women driving activists.
Authorities have said nine of 17 arrested people remain behind bars,
accused of undermining security and aiding enemies of the state.
The detainees include 28-year-old Loujain al-Hathloul — also held in 2014
for more than 70 days for attempting to drive from neighbouring United Arab
Emirates to Saudi Arabia — and Aziza al-Yousef, a retired professor at
Riyadh’s King Saud University.
State-backed newspapers have published front-page pictures of some of the
activists with the word “traitor” stamped across them in red.
Human Rights Watch last week said the kingdom has arrested two more female
activists and many others have been barred from travelling outside the
kingdom, in what it denounced as an “unrelenting crackdown”.
Even some of the crown prince’s ardent supporters have labelled the
crackdown a “mistake”.
It has been seen as a calculated move both to placate clerics incensed by
his modernisation drive and also to send a clear signal to activists that the
prince alone is the arbiter of change.
“If the authorities give credit to the women who championed lifting the
driving ban, it means conceding that reforms can be won through activism, and
then the Saudis may demand more,” said HRW researcher Rothna Begum.
“Saudi Arabia’s crown prince wants it both ways: to be lauded as a
reformer on the world stage, and to ensure his status as the only reformer at
home.”