Wajeha Al-Huwaider
Go, Wajeha Al-Huwaider.
A group called the League of Demanders of Women’s Right to Drive Cars in Saudi Arabia will present a petition to King Abdullah this week, asking him to “return that which has been stolen from women: the right to free movement through the use of cars, which are the means of transportation today.”…Heading the new group pressing to overturn the ban is Wajeha Al-Huwaider, an American-schooled education analyst…Last month, she held a one-woman demonstration with a placard demanding, “Give Women Their Rights!” She was arrested, detained for seven hours and freed only after a male “guardian” signed for her. Banned by the Saudi Interior Ministry from writing in the Saudi press, she writes online. The authorities have threatened to take away her job if she continues.
That’s ‘moderate’ Saudi Arabia.
The ban on driving is part of a wide sweep of restrictions on the role of women, which are enforced by the country’s religious police, the Muttawa, a common sight on Saudi streets. Strict segregation of the sexes is used to deny equal educational opportunities for women, and women are allowed to work only in certain vocations. Freedom of movement is severely restricted. Women require a mehram – a male guardian’s permission – to travel, rent an apartment or attend college.
In short, women are considered to be rebellious garbage, and treated accordingly.
Wajeha Al-Huwaider is not impressed. She attacks discriminatory laws which “classify women as having less sense, detract from their importance, cast doubts about their abilities, let them be beaten and divorced, let them be imprisoned within four walls, allow them to be treated as their husbands see fit, let them be bought and sold by legal agreement, and, when the women fail and violate religious law they welcome their barbaric killing.”
Apart from all that, things are pretty good.
She is right, and her life and freedom are certainly in danger for taking on the powers. As in Iran and some other Arab countries, speaking as a ‘free, political person’ is dangerous, whether for a male or a female.
Here is the question: what works in those countries to get political change? Is it necessary to line up to be jailed and killed, or optional?
Funny, GT, that nonsense about the Koran being full of peaceful messages made me think of the same quote.
Tacitus: “To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace.”
Political change? Saudi Arabia? I read once that when the country celebrated its 60th anniversary – of nationhood – the official slogan was : Sixty Years of Progress without Change!
I wish Ms Al-Huwaider the very best, she is incredibly courageous but any ‘progress’ in the Kingdom will only occur when they’ve been over-run by the raving loony Islamists, who just possibly might give women the vote while maintaining the rest of the repression.
“Return that which has been stolen from women: the right to free movement”
Freedom of movement indeed! Where have I heard that before? Ach, so! It reminds me of the Iranian government wanting to manufacture bur-bikes in order to hide the free-flowing movements of women’s physiques. Well, I conjecture! What would crop up if Arabian women were, by the government given back their cars that were from them wrongfully stolen? In addition, like every customary driver they had to turn left and right in their antiquated cars as one does naturally when driving. Would, I speculate, their facial movements exasperate too much the Arabian officials? If, also, the women looked at other men who were driving, to indicate which way they were going etc, would they receive penalty points accordingly? You know, I could just visualise the Arabian government penalising them for every wrong turn that included eye contact with the male species. I could see it punishing the women so severely after the latter had accrued a certain amount of penalty points. It would give them such a flogging. That they would be rendered incapable of driving at all! Their freedom of movement protest song would be “give me back my bur-bike with tent that was stolen from me.”
If they’re reeeaaalllly lucky, then in about 50 years they’ll get to the point where they’re allowed to drive, and maybe even have a job (!), but have to accept men as their spiritual and physical “masters”.
50 years to become as progressive as fundy Baptists.
That’s a scary thought.