Many women complained that though they wanted to support and participate in the Women2Drive initiative, their husbands stopped them.

They acknowledged that most men were worried about their safety, but this did not stop them from feeling helpless as they could not take part.

Thirty-four-year-old housewife Maha (name changed) felt Saudi women have to be submissive to the command of their male guardians or spouses and this gets in the way of their activism.

“I could not take my husband’s car because he expressed real fears and apprehension. He assumed I might get arrested or get into trouble like Manal Al-Sharif (who drove in protest at the ban on women driving in Dammam), so I could not pursue the idea.”

She said she could not risk driving because she did not have her family’s support, something that applies to other families. She feels many Saudi women let their inherent submissiveness to men get in their way of achievement.

Most of the men Arab News spoke to had more or less the same reasons for not allowing their women to drive.

Some claimed they did not trust their women with their cars, while others had certain beliefs they deemed good enough for not allowing them to drive on June 17.

Most common reasons included shabab (young men) on the road, safety and the fact it would make women more independent. Others raised doubts over the ability of women to drive on poor roads.

“The roads are a mess and there is construction work and uneven ground. With the atrocious traffic management system, you want women out there too? I did not allow my wife or daughter to drive,” said Salman Abadi, a 49-year-old sales manager working in Jeddah.

“Jeddah roads are so dangerous already, just imagine adding women to them. It’s a catastrophe,” he added.

Most men felt worried and feared for women's safety, claiming this would be a change witnessed never before and which the streets of Saudi Arabia were not prepared for.

“Not yet,” said Saad Hamri, a 34-year-old marketing assistant. “The men on the street do not know how to react in case there is a woman driver. First, do they know how to drive? Secondly, the ones always harassing women are waiting for this chance to be given to them. If women are harassed, then they should not complain.”

He said men already look after women's needs and security, as most are dependent on their male guardians to carry out everyday chores.

According to a snap poll on the Arab News website, around a half supported the Women2Drive campaign. A quarter were worried about women’s safety, a fifth were indifferent while the rest rejected the initiative.

One comment posted by reader Bill (not his real name) said: “It is better you stay at home, cook, clean, take care of the children, the home and the husband. Driving is not for woman in this country. We care about our safety on the road.”

“It is men who need a reality check. Who are they to decide when and how we should drive?” asked Lujain Muhammad, a 21-year-old college student who drove on Jeddah's Malik Road on June 17.

A teacher who was not allowed to drive in Jeddah by her husband felt that men want to retain the power to control women's lives and hence do not want their mothers, sisters or wives to drive.

“Once he knows his wife can do all the chores by herself and no one will consult him, he will lose power. They are ignorant like that,” said Huma Tariq, who is working at an international school in Jeddah.

The Women2Drive campaign, initiated by social networking sites, urged women to start driving from June 17.

Sarah Bashar, a 32-year-old writer in Jeddah, told Arab News that the campaign is not over yet. She feels that manipulation by male Saudi family members hinders any scope of progression.