“It is strange that the Shoura Council has not received our petition. The matter could not have been hidden from the council as it has been reported in the media. I do not find an explanation to this strange situation except that the council desires to distance itself from the petition’s subject matter,” said the journalist, Jamal Banoun.
A local newspaper on Friday carried a report citing a spokesman for the council denying the petition had been received. “The matter is not included in the Shoura’s agenda for future discussions. A special committee in the council receives petitions from the public. We learned about the matter from the media only recently,” said the spokesman, Mohammed Al-Muhnna.
Banoun has, however, not ruled out some administrative flaw that has stood in the way of the petition reaching the council’s chairman.
“In fact, the petition is an attempt to convince the council of the need to study and discuss the issue of women driving. I don’t find any harm in permitting women to drive. I hope the council deals with this important issue,” he said.
He also said that Saudi society will accept women’s right to drive as there is nothing antisocial about this. “I am sure that dozens of media establishments will compete with one another to interview the first Saudi woman to obtain a driving license,” he said.
Chairman of the Human Rights and Petitions Committee at the Shoura Council Ibrahim Al-Shuddi said his committee has so far not received any petition on the issue. He added that the petition could have reached the council’s chairman and, if so, he will forward it to the committee in a few days.
According to the petition, many Saudi women acquire international driving licenses from other countries and drive when abroad. “We appeal to the Shoura Council to discuss the matter and permit it on an experimental basis, at particular times and in selected cities or places accompanied by harsh and deterrent regulations to protect women from any kind of harassment,” say signatories of the petition.
It also recommends the opening of special driving schools for women and women’s sections at Police Stations to deal with traffic violations committed by women. It also called on women to drive roadworthy cars that are unlikely to break down, campaigns to encourage motorists to respect women drivers and harsh punishment for male motorists found harassing women.
