After reading the news that Saudi Arabia is letting women drive, I thought something had dislodged in my brain. I doubled, tripled, quadrupled-checked the headline before seeking out other news sites. Surely it can’t be? But it was! It’s true. My heart sprouted wings and I began to soar.
Hell yes.
This must happen to all women: when we hear that our sisters are changing the world and battling antiquated traditions despite the life-threatening consequences, we must acknowledge the iron-clad bond of Sisterhood that lives within us all.
This ban forbidding ladies to drive has eclipsed most conversations about Saudi Arabia and today we need to think of our Saudi sisters who fought for this. Women are now able to drive and undertake driving lessons without their husband’s permission. This bit shocked me the most, even though it shouldn’t. It’s about bloody time these women were granted their (rights!) autonomy.
I lived in Saudi Arabia 12 years ago and I remember being greeted with outlandish stories about the country’s issue with women. One in particular stayed with me.
There was a massive fire at a family home. The father wasn’t there, no males were, only her and the children. In order to get away, she quickly got all the children into the car with her and drove out into the desert. The only thing is that authorities caught up with her and jailed her/stoned her.
(I can’t 100% remember, I was 13, and no reports seem to pop up on Google. The story may be an urban legend but after similar accounts, there seems to be a fine line.)
For example: In 2002, there was an article in the Telegraph about 15 schoolgirls being ‘forced back’ into a school ravaged by a fire, simply because they weren’t wearing abayas. It is known that the religious police can be pretty brutal. I remember them being ubiquitous in public spaces, especially shopping malls, and once asked my mother’s blonde hair to be bundled into a scarf.
In terms of driving though, activists have been chucked into jail after getting behind the wheel in protest. Loujain Hathloul, back in 2014, filmed herself attempting to drive into Saudi Arabia from neighbouring United Arab Emirates. Moments after the footage was filmed, she was handcuffed.
Someone who is willing to stand up against an unabating law, knowing that dire consequences are waiting, needs an amazing form of reward. (Nobel Peace prize, anyone?)
It was only last year that women in Saudi were able to vote and run in local elections. Like wow, this is 2017! There still is a long way to go in terms of women’s rights and I’m sure our sisters are coming up with methods on battling those.
Women are still not allowed to apply for a national ID/Passport and are deprived of getting a fair hearing in court (one man’s testimony = two of a woman). Girls, it’s time to topple the fucking patriarchy.
But for now (!) it’s a time to celebrate. No one ever thought this day would come but it has. And it’s so, so beautiful.
swirlygirl* 