“We started this petition because we feel women in the Kingdom should have the right to drive just like every other woman on the planet,” said Hilal Al-Harthy, the person behind the petition. “Women in the Kingdom are not inferior to women from other countries. Why are they being treated like this?” he added.
“The purpose of the petition is to put a number on the amount of people who feel that women’s right to drive in the Kingdom should not be denied. The more people that sign the petition, the more impact there will be,” he added.
The online petition asks for names, ID numbers, nationalities, e-mails and home addresses. “The aim of the petition is to collect as many names and ID numbers of people who support women driving in the Kingdom,” said Maha Taher, a supporter of the petition.
“Its purpose is to show that the majority of men and women support the idea unlike what the media published a few years ago saying that the majority of people are conservative and against the idea,” she added.
“ When there are enough signatures on the petition, it will be presented to the relevant government representative for consideration,” she added.
Within three days of being launched, more than 1,600 Saudis joined the Facebook group that is hosting the petition. “We are creating awareness about it via BlackBerries, SMS text messages, WatsApp, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, word of mouth and every medium I have access to in a peaceful manner. I will never cause chaos and ask women to drive unauthorized. This is a peaceful campaign to get as many names as possible on the petition and come up with a well structured plan,” said Taher.
The organizers of the petition are targeting both genders. “We are targeting men and women to show that it is not only women who want to see women driving but also men,” said Taher. “I hope the number increases on a daily basis. Once we get 50,000 signatures, we will pass it on to the authorities. If they deny it, then we’ll aim for 100,000 names. If they still deny it, then we’ll gather 200,000 and so on… We will never stop till we see a positive change,” she added.
“We want to submit the petition to the concerned government representatives with a comprehensive two-year plan on how to get women safely driving in the Kingdom. This way, they can hopefully adopt the plan and begin implementing it right away. While we are in the process of developing this plan, we would love for people to submit their own ideas on how to develop the project further,” she said.
Depending on a driver on a daily basis is frustrating and exhausting, said Taher. “I feel helpless, trapped and paralyzed when there isn’t a man to take me to work, hospital or anywhere I urgently need to be,” she said.
“What about the majority of other ladies who don’t have men folk to rely on? It’s not like we have a decent public transportation system in the Kingdom. Nor do we have safe sidewalks to walk on. Depriving women from driving is not helping the situation at all,” she added.
