JEDDAH: Manal Al-Sharif, the Saudi woman who drove her car in Dhahran, Eastern Province last Thursday, was detained again on Sunday, a source told Arab News.

Al-Sharif was first arrested on Saturday after uploading a video on YouTube in which she talked about the challenge of having to rely on drivers.

Asked if Al-Sharif’s arrest was legal, Saudi lawyer Adnan Al-Saleh, who is representing her, said since she did not commit a major violation, she could be released on bail.

“However, police have the right to detain people for one or two days for investigations. If police do not find any evidence against the accused, he or she should be released on bail.”

Al-Saleh added: “Manal’s decision to drive was strictly personal and not linked to any group or ideology.  “If she had driven on the day of the campaign, planned for June 17, that would have been considered a demonstration without coordinating with the authorities concerned. That would have given the government the right to take legal action against her.”

A campaign calling for women around the Kingdom to drive on June 17 has already attracted over 13,000 people.

The campaign has a Facebook page called “Teach me how to drive so I can protect myself,’’ which urges authorities to lift the driving ban. The campaigners have focused on the importance of women driving in times of emergencies and in the case of low-income families.

Through Facebook, the campaigners are calling for a mass drive on June 17 and more than 13,000 people viewing the page have indicated they support the call.

Asked if there were laws against women driving, he said that there were fatwas issued against women driving, but not applied to the legislative authority.

“This is similar to the fatwa that considers smoking prohibited; yet cigarettes are sold in the market and smoked by people.

Al-Sharif’s attempt comes after Najla Hariri’s venture to drive in Jeddah. Hariri dropped off her kids at school and was not detained. She was able to drive smoothly in the coastal city. These women’s experiments inspired other Saudi women, with a young woman from Qatif appearing on YouTube driving her car.

The Qatif woman, who preferred anonymity in the video, said she obtained a driving license in Bahrain.

She added she was not willing to give away her car with hopes she “would drive one day.” The girl, who was filmed by her father, said that neighbors w surprised to see her drive for five minutes in the street.

However, men and women against the call for driving created their own anti-driving campaigns.

Among these calls is a campaign demanding all men to beat up women attempting to drive. The men have been told to use their igals (head bands) to strike women behind the wheels in the streets.

Another anti-driving campaign with more than 2,000 supporters calls for punishment for women who seek to drive.

“The worst excuse they provide is that they face problems with drivers; why don’t they talk about challenges they face with their maids then?” wrote one woman on an anti-driving campaign forum.

Another woman wrote she was against women driving for a reason: “Our people first need to learn how to treat one another with respect.”

Late in the night, Al-Sharif’s father arrived in the Eastern Province to secure her early release.

Reaction to Al-Sharif’s action was muted, but many women say there is nothing in Islam that forbids women from driving, and women will eventually seek their rights themselves.

There were others who called for a clear official stand on this issue. “Women driving is a necessity these days,” said Fatima Ba Smael, a Saudi journalist based in Riyadh.

She added that the number of workingwomen is increasing, and with it the demand to drive.

“Some women cannot accept jobs due to their inability to secure a driver. Other women who are already working cannot recruit drivers legally because of the condition that only widows and divorced women can hire drivers,” she added.

Consequently, the black market for drivers flourishes, impacting women’s budget. Ba Smael observed that the issue of women driving should be controlled by strict rules to ensure their safety and prepare society to accept it.

“Without these two points, no woman will succeed in her attempt to drive a car,” she added.

Hawazin Ba-Daoud claims that driving becomes a necessity for her in her line of work. “I work as a producer for a TV channel, which means searching for locations and going places to coordinate with interviewees. Can you imagine the immense pressure I face trying to find transportation?” said Ba-Daoud.

She added that she hires a driver for herself and that costs her a packet. Also his inability to commit to schedules is another cause for concern and this adds to her pressure.

“It is my right as is my choice to drive. I am a human being, a person and by driving I am not going against my religion or the state, so why should I pay a heavy price for a man-made custom?” said Ba-Daoud, adding that women’s education when first introduced in the Kingdom too faced hurdles, but today women are competing with men and excelling in the field.