Shahir Al-Nahari
I have written several articles about what must be done before women drive in Saudi Arabia, where only men have been sitting behind the wheel since the country’s formation.
Women have so far been denied the right to drive and many still believe that it will be an impossible goal to achieve. At the same time, the whole world is watching with great interest whether the Kingdom will allow its women folk to drive on its roads or not.
Due to space constraints we cannot discuss here all viewpoints on this complicated issue. Some people think it touches the crux of religious believe and they differentiate between driving a car and riding camels, horses and donkeys, which were the primitive means of transport.
Some others have opposed the idea because they don’t like women driving fearing their safety and they are ready to drive their women to their destinations. Chivalry, tribalism and morality are other reasons raised to deny women the right to drive as if all women drivers lacked morality.
These arguments make women driving in the Kingdom a big issue. The religious rulings and research works on the subject cannot be mentioned in this short article.
Some skeptics believe it is not yet time to introduce women driving in the Kingdom and call for delaying it further until a suitable environment is created with the civil society and government supporting the move and women leading the campaign.
There is division among Saudi women themselves on the legitimacy of the issue. This demands more discussion and planning in order to introduce women driving in a systematic way.
I would like to explain in this article what we have to do in preparing the ground for safe women driving, ensuring full support and cooperation of men. I believe that the following seven things must be materialized before we make any solid move to realize the objective.
1. The anti-harassment law must be passed, imposing strong and deterrent punishment on violators. Nobody should dare to harass women and create chaos in the country, forcing women to stay at home.
2. Enact a law to prevent people gathering around accident sites. People who obstruct the path of traffic police, first-aid providers and rescue workers should be implicated.
3. Awareness campaigns should be carried out through schools, mosques and the media to educate the public that women driving is essential on humanitarian grounds as society’s ignorance about the issue will deny women the right to drive.
4. In the beginning driving should be restricted to women belonging to a specific age group and this can be done by issuing driving licenses to women in that age group only.
5. Form a female police force to look after women drivers, especially when they involve in any traffic accidents. Part of this police force should be mobile.
6. A rapid mobile car maintenance team should be established to deal with the cars of women on highways. This team should be operating around the clock and its service fee and bylaw should be determined by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
7. Stiff punishment should be imposed on individuals who dare to take photos of women while driving or when they involve in any accident. The photos of such people should be publicized as a deterrent to other potential offenders.
These measures are more important than taking a decision on women driving as they will make us a civilized people. We should not give others any chance to show amazement on what is happening in our country as if we have come from another planet.
