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A female Saudi motorist speaks to the media after driving her vehicle in defiance of the ban on driving in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has no formal ban on women driving but, as citizens must use only Saudi-issued licences, which are only issued to men, women are effectively barred from driving.
Two Saudi female activists have filed lawsuits against the government for refusing to issue them driving licences and banning them from driving a car.
Manal al-Sherif, the icon of an Internet campaign launched in 2011 urging Saudi women to defy a ban on driving, and human rights activist Samar Badawi filed their suits against the interior ministry.
Sherif, who was arrested in May 2011 and detained for 10 days after posting on YouTube a video of herself driving, said she decided to file the lawsuit after having been denied a driving licence.
Sherif, one of the activists behind a “My Right, My Dignity” campaign aimed at ending discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia, said: “There is no actual law that states woman can't drive in Saudi Arabia and therefore no justification for preventing them from issuing a licence.”
Badawi said the grievance board at the interior ministry had informed her to “follow-up in a week” to confirm a court appointment for her lawsuit.
Ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia is the only country where women are not allowed to drive. However, they sit behind the wheel in desert regions away from the capital.
Women in the kingdom who have the financial means hire drivers while others must depend on the goodwill of male relatives.
They also have to be veiled in public and cannot travel unless accompanied by their husbands or a close male relative. - AFP
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