*Saudi Women In Charge*
Published on elan <http://elanthemag.com/saudi-women-in-charge/> | shared
via feedly <http://www.feedly.com>
*By: Hyacinth Mascarenhas*
While the rest of world sets its eyes on Egypt, Yemen, and Libya, Saudi
Arabia is focused on a major national issue: women behind the wheel. A Saudi
woman was detained on Saturday for driving a car in al-Khobar in the
Kingdom's Eastern Province on the Persian Gulf, a day after posting footage
on YouTube showing her behind the wheel.
Manal al-Sharif, 32, was detained again on Sunday for defying the ban on
women drivers in the conservative Kingdom. Her brother, Mohammed al-Sherif,
who was in the car with her when she drove, also was detained Sunday.
According to local
reports<http://sabq.org/sabq/user/news.do?section=5&id=24474>,
the computer security consultant has been sentenced to five days in prison.
She has also been charged with: "bypassing rules and regulations, driving a
car within the city, enabling a journalist to interview her while driving a
car, deliberately disseminating the incident to the media, incitement of
Saudi women to drive cars, and turning public opinion against the
regulations."
Adhering to a strict interpretation of the Wahabi version of Sunni Islam,
Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women, both Saudi
and foreign, from driving. Women are also not permitted to travel on their
own or receive an education without male approval, cannot mix with unrelated
men in public places or vote in municipal elections.
Maha Taher, a well-known social activist in Saudi Arabia and
co-founder of Social
Awareness for female Entitlements
(SAFE)<http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_114062038670141&ap=1>stated,
"I doubt anyone can say religiously Islam prevents females from
driving because Khawla bint Al Azwar, during our Prophet Muhammed's (PBUH)
time, rode horses and no one stopped her. Therefore in this day and age,
why are men stopping women from driving? Cars and horses are the same, they
are both means of transportation."
Although there is no specific written law that bans women from driving, the
Kingdom requires citizens to use a locally issued license while in the
country. These licenses, however, are not issued to women. Taher continues,
"I hope for the immediate release of our sister and daughter of this
country, Manal Al-Sharif, and for the lifting of injustice. As she drove,
she was accompanied by her licensed brother and with his consent to drive,
recognized in accordance with the traffic system, contained in Article II,
paragraph 34. She did not have a Saudi national driving license because
Saudi does not issue national driving licenses for women, yet they issue
international ones for us."
Al-Sharif and other activists launched a campaign on Facebook and Twitter
calling on women in Saudi Arabia who hold international drivers' licenses to
drive their cars to protest the ban on Friday, June 17. The Facebook page,
called "Teach me how to drive so I can protect myself" gained more than
12,000 followers before being removed by Saudi censors. The campaign's
Twitter account was also deactivated.
Human rights activist, Waleed Abu Alkhair, has already prepared a petition
to be sent to King Abdullah collecting more than four hundred signatures
from Saudi citizens within hours of posting the
petition<http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_111582665597538&ap=1>
.
"The time has come to resolve the issue of women's driving once and for all
in a clear manner. To say that it's a social issue and is not prohibited by
religion, and then for women to get arrested is completely unjust leaving us
trapped in a vicious circle," said the online petition.
Feedly. Feed your mind. http://www.feedly.com <http://www.feedly.com/#mail>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
=======================
Milis Wanita Muslimah
Membangun citra wanita muslimah dalam diri, keluarga, maupun masyarakat.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wanita_muslimah
Situs Web: http://www.wanita-muslimah.com
ARSIP DISKUSI : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wanita-muslimah/messages
Kirim Posting mailto:wanita-muslimah@yahoogroups.com
Berhenti mailto:wanita-muslimah-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Milis Keluarga Sejahtera mailto:keluarga-sejahtera@yahoogroups.com
Milis Anak Muda Islam mailto:majelismuda@yahoogroups.com
Milis ini tidak menerima attachment.Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wanita-muslimah/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wanita-muslimah/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
wanita-muslimah-digest@yahoogroups.com
wanita-muslimah-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
wanita-muslimah-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
0 comments:
Post a Comment