Three Saudi Shura Council women urge female drive ban lifted
10/8/2013 6:37:59 PM
Three female members of Saudi Arabia's Shura Consultative Council filed a recommendation on Tuesday that a ban on women driving in the ultra-conservative kingdom be lifted, one of them said.
The move comes ahead of an October 26 initiative by Saudi activists to defy a longstanding driving ban on women in Saudi Arabia.
Latifa al-Shaalan told AFP that she and two fellow council members, Haya al-Mani and Muna al-Mashit, filed a recommendation urging the kingdom's top consultative body to "recognize the rights of women to drive a car in accordance with the principles of sharia [Islamic law] and traffic rules."
They backed their recommendation with results of studies on the various justifications for women to drive.
"There is no law that bans women from driving. It is only a matter of tradition," Shaalan said.
Saudi women have "made many achievements... and have acquired leading positions in the government and the United Nations, yet they are still banned from driving. This creates a negative image [for the kingdom] abroad," she said.
The move comes ahead of an October 26 initiative by Saudi activists to defy a longstanding driving ban on women in Saudi Arabia.
Latifa al-Shaalan told AFP that she and two fellow council members, Haya al-Mani and Muna al-Mashit, filed a recommendation urging the kingdom's top consultative body to "recognize the rights of women to drive a car in accordance with the principles of sharia [Islamic law] and traffic rules."
They backed their recommendation with results of studies on the various justifications for women to drive.
"There is no law that bans women from driving. It is only a matter of tradition," Shaalan said.
Saudi women have "made many achievements... and have acquired leading positions in the government and the United Nations, yet they are still banned from driving. This creates a negative image [for the kingdom] abroad," she said.