SCHOLARS, academics, imams — 118 of them — signed a petition opposing women driving, saying that in these times “westernized” voices are asking loudly for women to drive. The petitioners listed several points that to them seemed the main objections against women driving.
This is not the first petition concerning women driving. Last month another petition was presented to the human rights body asking for women to drive, and according to Al-Majallah magazine another petition was submitted to the same body asking for exactly the opposite. The debate is hot; each side is trying to show the advantages and disadvantages to support their arguments.
The interesting thing in the petition against women driving, referred to by Al-Majallah, was that the petitioners quoted a study of “unknown” source saying that in the UK 40 percent of women drivers suffer from psychological problems emanating from stress. It also added that a “big” number of these women die below the age of 40. Talk about concocted studies.
In one of the national dialogues that took place last year, an academic said that women should not be allowed to drive since women during their period become dyslexic and color blind which endangers them on the road!
But to go back to our recent petition, none of those dodgy theories were used, only reasons why they thought it is neither Islamic nor right for Saudi women to drive.
The points included:
1. If women drive, they will be outside their houses much more often.
2. Women will be tempted to dress up.
3. Since women like to show off, they’ll change cars a lot.
4. Women are known to be less decisive than men and they are less capable of dealing with difficult situations.
5. Women drivers will have to be issued driving licenses and IDs with their photos on them.
6. Mixing with strange men will make women lose their shyness.
7. Corruption of morals will become easy.
8. Traffic police will have to have women sections, which places an economic burden on the government.
9. Men will lose their right to supervise women.
The petition also accused Saudis who support women driving of being hypocrites who work as pawns for the enemies of the nation and said that they should repent before God.
It is a long list; on analysis it seems that the main fear of men is that they will lose control over their women folk, a right they have been practicing for very a long time.
To start from the beginning, the petitioners seem to live on another planet or maybe they just have not been looking around them lately. To say that women will be issued with IDs with photos on them is disingenuous, since there is already the national ID card scheme that allows women to have their own IDs and it is actually going to be mandatory soon.
— Women and men mixing? In case these people have not noticed, women do go out, ride with strange men who are their drivers or taxi drivers. How is riding with a stranger not considered mixing but riding by oneself is considered mixing? It makes no sense to me.
— Women are less decisive and cannot face difficult situations is a gratuitously patronizing statement, since lots of women work and have to take decisions in their work. Even housewives are shouldering lots of responsibilities that need decision-making. Does not raising kids need decision-making? I wonder if this is a trivial job compared with driving a car?
— Women will uncover their faces if they drive. First of all not all women cover their faces here. Second of all, experience shows that in other Muslim countries some women drive their cars and keep covering half their faces except for the eyes.
— Women like to show off and will change cars much more often; surely whoever thought of this is not living in Saudi Arabia. If this is true we will not see young men changing their cars every year. Those who have the money and feel like changing their cars to match their outfit are already there on our streets showing off their Ferraris and BMWs.
— Opening women sections for traffic police? I thought we had an employment problem! Should not we welcome new job openings?
This whole argument started by stressing that Islam gave women rights that do not exist in many cultures. To start with that obvious fact does not mean that we are an ideal society.
The fact that we started debating issues in our society is a great sign. We need to know how to differ with each other and stop denying the other parties the right to express their opinions by branding them. Like the petitioners here who branded their opponents as being hypocrites and atheists.
Dialogue is always a good sign but we have to know how to differ graciously, and please, can we respect people’s minds and really list some serious social problems instead of denying the obvious. Or do we need a referee to help us to discuss things in a much more serious and responsible manner?
It Happened in Jarir
While checking out books in Jarir bookstore few days ago, I noticed a boy running straight to the information desk, eagerness on his face and hurriedly asking the salesman, “Do you have the new Harry Potter? But before he could complete his sentence he noticed the book stacked in front of him, his face lit with joy and he grabbed the book with as if he was afraid it would magically disappear.
At the cashier I saw the boy again. Teasingly my friend said to him, “You know this book is for adults only?” He looked at her with a knowing look on his face and said, “Are you kidding? I’ve read the first five parts already.”
So I asked him how he knew that the book was available here since it was released only hours earlier in UK. He said that he called the bookstore and asked them to call him when the book arrived. He left holding the book and telling us that he would start reading it as soon as he got into his car.
I could not help but smile and feel elated that a boy of his age would feel such joy at reading a book, at a time where reading is not exactly one of our national pastimes.
