RIYADH, 2 March 2006 — Women were forbidden to drive golf carts in the cultural village at the Janadriya Festival during the three-day period set aside for women. Original plans called for trained Saudi women to drive the golf carts and assist in transporting visitors, particularly old women and the handicapped.
According to Seham Al-Dosary, an organizer from the company supplying the carts, no clear reasons were given for the decision.
“We suggested to the festival organizers that they use small golf carts for visitors inside the cultural village. The idea was to facilitate the movement of both male and female visitors within the cultural village. We felt that the carts would be particularly useful for the old and the disabled,” Al-Dosary told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
She said that SR400,000 had been spent on the golf carts and that young men and women had been trained to drive them. The idea was that golf carts are small and easy to use and, as she pointed out, “Golf carts are already used in women’s universities in Saudi Arabia.”
She pointed out that the Janadriya organizers had canceled the agreement after signing the contracts between them and the cultural committee representative, Wafa Al-Tuwaijri.
Al-Dosary said that the organizers agreed to give the women’s committee three golf carts free of charge for private transportation for committee members and VIP guests. They also provided 14 golf carts for transporting regular visitors inside the village.
She observed that young Saudi men used the golf carts during men’s activities but women were not allowed to use them during the three days for women. The reason given was safety.
“Looking out for our safety and preventing accidents are not valid reasons to stop us from using golf carts inside the cultural village. I telephoned Gen. Saad Abu Ethnain this morning to ask about the ban on women driving golf carts and his response was that it was for security reasons. I have hired a lawyer to file a case. We signed a number of contracts relating to the cultural village and unfortunately, if we don’t fulfill the contracts, we may have to pay compensation,” Al-Dosary said.
When contacted by Asharq Al-Awsat, Gen. Abu Ethnain, the head of security at the festival, denied that any approval had been given for the use of golf carts at Janadriya.
“I am not aware of any agreement which this lady is talking about,” he said.
Fatima Al-Tuwaijri, assistant supervisor for the women’s committee, stated, “Seham Al-Dosary informed the responsible women’s committee that the National Guard had approved this project and that it was to facilitate transportation for visitors inside the village. The committee then acted according to what she had told them and then later found that what she had said was untrue.”
