Al-Jazirah newspaper

A LOCAL newspaper published a report about the conditions at one of the schools in the Eastern Province that teach women how to drive. The report said 13,000 women joined the school to learn driving but only 67 of them were able to obtain their licenses.

The report insinuates that as many as 12,933 women have failed to obtain driving licenses and that they have not been able to pass the test.

A careful reading of the report will reveal that the failure of the women trainees to obtain licenses was not because of any fault on their part but more or less the result of the conditions at the school.

I thought the sarcasm against women driving was confined to social media but judging by the report, it is obvious that it had regretfully reached the conventional media too, which is a very serious matter.

In fact, there is an obvious abuse and open sarcasm against women driving even before it had started.

The question here is what will be the nature of the sarcasm on social media platforms and the conventional media after women will actually take to the streets on June 24. It is as if there is a war against this step and against the empowerment of the women in general.

The media should be aware of the conspiracies against this nation and their use of decisions to empower women as a tool for this abuse.

The abuse that started locally has gone abroad. Sarcastic billboards and posters around the Geneva Lake was a clear example of that the abuse, which started at home and has spilled out. This would never have happened if the abuse did not start at home in the first place.

Few months back Minister of Information Awwad Al-Awwad came out with a statement calling for the incrimination of anyone who might abuse women empowerment. I think it is time to implement this statement and to hold anyone who laughs at the Saudi women driving responsible.

Social media tools and newspapers that publish sarcastic reports about women driving should be stopped by the power of law.

We are moving fast toward realizing the objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030 and therefore we cannot tolerate anyone who impedes our path to reach our goals.

Anyone who has a problem with women driving should seek psychiatric help, otherwise they will be sidestepped.