In an unprecedented move, three women members of the Shoura Council have raised the issue of ban on women driving in the Kingdom, recommending that it be lifted. Regardless of the outcome, this represents a potentially significant change in the debate on a subject, which has long raised strong feelings.

It has been reported that the council members, Latifa Al-Shaalan, Haya Al-Mani and Muna Al-Mashit, urged fellow members of the Shoura — the Kingdom’s top consultative body — “to recognize the right of women to drive a car in accordance with the principles of Shariah and traffic rules.”

This move has once again sparked a debate. A number of arguments have been advanced by those who believe that women in the Kingdom should be allowed to drive. Perhaps one of the more powerful, though often last cited, is financial. If women do not have male family members to take them in motor vehicles, then professional drivers have to be employed. It has been estimated that this costs some SR3,300 a month. Even for relatively prosperous families this is a considerable expense. For those with low incomes, it is one that is simply unaffordable.

The upshot is that shopping expeditions or visits to family and friends must wait until there is a male relative to do the driving. This can eat into time that the family might better be spending at home together.

There is also an argument that the driving ban for women is regularly exploited by foreign critics of the Kingdom as a sign of oppression of women. Yet such critics refuse to recognize the cultural influences that have caused Saudi women to be perfectly content with not driving.

Those Saudis, who are now pressing for change, argue that there is nothing in any law that actually forbids female drivers. Well yes and no. The law says that women may not hold driving licenses. Therefore any woman who gets behind the wheel is in fact breaking the law. She has not passed any test in the Kingdom that proves she is qualified to drive. Moreover, since women may not hold driving licenses, it stands to reason that any automotive insurance policy will be invalid. No woman could be named as driver of a vehicle and therefore have insurance cover.

Those who oppose the change fear that women drivers will be exposed to harassment, especially by young people. One lawyer told this newspaper that he believes that if the law is changed, it must include protection for women drivers against such behavior. This, however, is surely a sop to those who have genuine concerns in this direction. There are already robust laws in place to protect women from unpleasant male attention. This legislation should surely apply just as much if a woman is driving a car, as when she is walking in the street with her family or a chaperone.

The challenge here is to consider the proposed change in a thoughtful and constructive manner. Outsiders may imagine that in calling the Kingdom “conservative,” they are casting an insult. However, Saudis know that their conservative values have represented a considerable strength, in the face of many challenges from the outside world.

The views of women who want the driving ban lifted should be listened to with respect. Equally deserving of a hearing are those women who see no need for change. What should not happen is for there to be a confrontation that can lead to bitterness and recrimination. The Kingdom has never been isolated from change. The very presence of 30 women on the Shoura Council, appointed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and enthusiastically accepted by the majority of Saudis, is clear proof that, as in every healthy society, there is a constant, but gradual evolution.

However, those women activists who seek to provoke change by direct action, should think carefully. Flouting the law and driving cars openly, challenging the authorities to act, as has already happened, is perhaps not the way to advance the debate. Indeed some would argue that such behavior might delay consideration of any change. It would cause focus to fall on the short-term outcome of fines and vehicle confiscation and the inevitable bad feeling that such responses will cause. And any women who choose this confrontational course of action should remember something else. The impact of what they do will not be limited to the Kingdom. There are well-organized groups outside, who would be only too happy to exploit prosecutions and seek to damage Saudi Arabia’s standing in the world.