By Shafi Al-Wasaan
IT is true that women driving is not a big issue and does not require all this hue and cry. But in order to prove the objectivity of our stand and uprightness of our laws and regulations, we should identify the party to be blamed for this long delay in allowing women to drive on the Kingdom’s roads.
Who should we blame for this unofficial ban? Should we blame the families who will be the main beneficiaries of women driving if the ban was lifted? Was the measure imposed to protect society’s morality and ethical values? Should we blame the state for the delay in taking a firm decision on the issue?
In my opinion this is a simple issue and the ban should not continue affecting the Kingdom’s global reputation as a fast-developing country. Our position is like a strong tree that withstood storms, thunders, lightning and landslides but collapsed under the attack of beetles.
Whenever our brilliant Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir addresses a press conference outside the Kingdom he faces the question of why his country does not allow women to drive. Despite the minister’s ability to silence opponents by giving befitting answers, he often stumbles while replying to this question.
The minister knows that there is no justification for the ban and at the same time he is forced to defend the government’s stand on the issue. Because of this internal conflict between what he believes and what he should acknowledge, the answer becomes weak and unconvincing. This issue may even weaken his position to defend other just causes.
We have heard his answer to Najah Al-Otaibi, a Saudi student who pursues her studies abroad, when she asked him the same question. He had no way except to blame society. “I believe it’s a social issue because the Kingdom’s laws do not prevent women from driving,” the minister said.
The answer was not only unconvincing but gives an impression to the outside world that Saudis are still a backward society incapable of coping with modern developments. Thus, we give our enemies another opportunity to malign us.
It also shows that we have not taught our children the need to respect the rights of other motorists on our roads and that our society would not be able to address more complicated issues than driving, like respecting diversity of cultures and religious faiths and fighting extremism.
The organization of public life should not be based on customs and traditions and we cannot depend solely on religious sermons in this regard. Rather we should enact and impose laws and regulations. Good education softens minds and makes people more disciplined and law-abiding.
At the same time, there will be people who are likely to commit mistakes and imposition of laws would make them upright to a great extent. The Third Caliph Othman Bin Affan, may Allah be pleased with him, once said: “God prevents (from sins) with power people who do not heed the Qur’anic injunctions.”
The government should not show any leniency toward those people who object to women driving at the expense of the country. They impose their views on people and blame society for the mistakes of a few.
They wanted to impose their hegemony through the continuation of the ban. They also want to control society with an iron hand after giving the false impression that the whole nation would fall into the gutters of immorality if the ban was lifted.
Those who blame our youth for banning women driving should know that these disgruntled youth are their own product. They have been taking control of the whole society, interfering in every single matter and giving the youth a hard time. So when the opponents say society is not yet ready for women driving they actually acknowledge their own negative impact on society.
People who oppose women driving on the ground that female drivers would face harassment from young Saudi men should understand that this is a baseless notion. They should know that the youth in this country did not come from Mars. They are our own children.
Some people have created a wrong notion that once the ban is lifted all women in the country would be forced to drive. The move only aims at facilitating things for people. If a family wants their women to drive they would be allowed to do so and if another does not want they would not be forced to drive.
This issue can be solved by issuing an order in a simple sentence: “The government has allowed women in the country to drive; those women who wish to drive may exercise the right under state protection and the state respects the remaining women’s choice of not to drive.”
