Abdullah Al-Jamili
In a long interview with The Economist, Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, was asked why women could not drive in the Kingdom. In a press conference in Munich, Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubair was asked the same question. In fact, it is only Saudi society that will decide this issue.
Some of our media outlets depict the issue of women driving as a crisis that Saudi society is undergoing and say that women are banned from driving because a male-dominated and domineering society does not want them to do so. This is how the Western world views the issue because of the way our media portrays it.
This issue has been a hot one for many years and many focus on it more than on the achievements of Saudi women over the last decade. Today, Saudi women are members of the Shoura Council and represent 20 percent of the council’s members. The Shoura Council is the highest legislative body in the country. This fact puts the Kingdom first in terms of female representation in parliament when compared with other Gulf countries.
If we compare women’s representation in the Kingdom with other Arab countries, the Kingdom stands fifth. Globally speaking, the Kingdom ranks 76 out of 190 countries in this regard. Saudi women have become members of chambers of commerce, literary clubs and municipal councils.
Saudi women are important partners of national development and their presence is felt in all fields, including in scientific, cultural and social fields. They have invented many things such as devices and machines, and launched important social initiatives. Even though some of them hold leading positions in different organizations, Western media ignores all of these achievements.
Our media outlets should revise the way they report news and shed light on the achievements of Saudi women. Women are mothers, teachers, doctors, nurses, college professors, scientists, economists, etc. All of these achievements are more important than women driving.
