Saturday, May 17, 2014

Saudi Woman Killed Defying Driving Ban

AFP reports on May 8, 2014 - a link to the story is here, story below.
 
Riyadh:  A Saudi woman was killed in a car crash in the capital on Thursday as she defied the kingdom's long-standing ban on female driving, local media reported.

The woman, in her 20s, lost control of her vehicle and crashed into the wall of a youth club in Riyadh, according to the website of the local Al-Jazeera daily.

The car caught fire and she died, it said.

Ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive.

However, they usually get behind the wheel in desert regions away from the capital.

Thursday's deadly accident was not the first of its kind involving a woman driver. In January 2012, a female driver was injured and her companion killed when their car overturned in the northern Hael province.

And in November 2010, a woman driver was killed along with three of her female passengers in a similar accident.

Women in the kingdom who have the means hire drivers while others must depend on the goodwill of male relatives.

Women's rights activists make frequent calls to challenge the ban and those who do so post online videos showing themselves behind the wheel.

In addition to not being allowed to drive, Saudi women must cover themselves from head to toe and need permission from a male guardian to travel, work and marry.

A woman who defied the ban on female driving in Saudi Arabia died in a car crash on Thursday, according to local media.
The woman, who is described as being in her 20s, was driving when she lost control of her vehicle, according to the local Al-Jazeera daily website.
The woman was killed after she crashed into the wall of a youth club in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital city, and the car burst into flames, the site said.
Saudi Arabia is ultra-conservative and it is the only country in the world where women are prohibited from driving, the Agence France-Presse reports.
It's still unusual to see women driving in the kingdom, but they have been getting behind the wheel in desert regions away from Riyadh.
This is not the first time a fatal motor vehicle accident has occurred involving a female driver.
In 2012, a woman who had also protested against the driving ban was taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries and her companion died after their car overturned in the northern Hael province, according to The Independent.
A similar incident happened in November 2010 when a Saudi woman was killed along with three of her 10 female passengers.
Women in the kingdom who can afford to hire drivers do so, while others must depend on male relatives to drive them. They also need permission from a male guardian to travel, work and marry.
Women's rights activists often come together to defy the driving ban and encourage other women to post online videos of themselves driving.
According to the Daily Mail, Manal al-Sherif, a 32-year-old computer security consultant, who was part of the first driving campaign, was arrested and detained for 10 days in May for uploading a YouTube video of herself driving around Khobar.
- See more at: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion/saudi-woman-dies-car-crash-after-defying-kingdoms-driving-ban#sthash.S7qBvRUM.dpuf

A woman who defied the ban on female driving in Saudi Arabia died in a car crash on Thursday, according to local media.
The woman, who is described as being in her 20s, was driving when she lost control of her vehicle, according to the local Al-Jazeera daily website.
The woman was killed after she crashed into the wall of a youth club in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital city, and the car burst into flames, the site said.
Saudi Arabia is ultra-conservative and it is the only country in the world where women are prohibited from driving, the Agence France-Presse reports.
It's still unusual to see women driving in the kingdom, but they have been getting behind the wheel in desert regions away from Riyadh.
This is not the first time a fatal motor vehicle accident has occurred involving a female driver.
In 2012, a woman who had also protested against the driving ban was taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries and her companion died after their car overturned in the northern Hael province, according to The Independent.
A similar incident happened in November 2010 when a Saudi woman was killed along with three of her 10 female passengers.
Women in the kingdom who can afford to hire drivers do so, while others must depend on male relatives to drive them. They also need permission from a male guardian to travel, work and marry.
Women's rights activists often come together to defy the driving ban and encourage other women to post online videos of themselves driving.
According to the Daily Mail, Manal al-Sherif, a 32-year-old computer security consultant, who was part of the first driving campaign, was arrested and detained for 10 days in May for uploading a YouTube video of herself driving around Khobar.
- See more at: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion/saudi-woman-dies-car-crash-after-defying-kingdoms-driving-ban#sthash.S7qBvRUM.dpuf

A woman who defied the ban on female driving in Saudi Arabia died in a car crash on Thursday, according to local media.
The woman, who is described as being in her 20s, was driving when she lost control of her vehicle, according to the local Al-Jazeera daily website.
The woman was killed after she crashed into the wall of a youth club in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital city, and the car burst into flames, the site said.
Saudi Arabia is ultra-conservative and it is the only country in the world where women are prohibited from driving, the Agence France-Presse reports.
It's still unusual to see women driving in the kingdom, but they have been getting behind the wheel in desert regions away from Riyadh.
This is not the first time a fatal motor vehicle accident has occurred involving a female driver.
In 2012, a woman who had also protested against the driving ban was taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries and her companion died after their car overturned in the northern Hael province, according to The Independent.
A similar incident happened in November 2010 when a Saudi woman was killed along with three of her 10 female passengers.
Women in the kingdom who can afford to hire drivers do so, while others must depend on male relatives to drive them. They also need permission from a male guardian to travel, work and marry.
Women's rights activists often come together to defy the driving ban and encourage other women to post online videos of themselves driving.
According to the Daily Mail, Manal al-Sherif, a 32-year-old computer security consultant, who was part of the first driving campaign, was arrested and detained for 10 days in May for uploading a YouTube video of herself driving around Khobar.
- See more at: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion/saudi-woman-dies-car-crash-after-defying-kingdoms-driving-ban#sthash.S7qBvRUM.dpuf

Saudi women continue to break driving ban

On May 12, 2014 Middle East Monitor reports the story below. A link to it is here.

Saudi women continue to break the driving ban imposed on them. Analysts believe that in recent years the number of female students sent by their families to study abroad has increased, they believe that the women return with driving licences and a motivation to break the ban.

Meanwhile, Saudi traffic patrol and police insist on arresting female drivers and forcing them to sign statements not to drive again.

In Riyadh, a young female driver died after losing control of her car while speeding and hitting a wall in the early hours of the morning.

Saudi women living in remote villages and the desert have been driving for decades; a few years ago, an 80-year-old woman who was arrested for driving said she had been driving for over five decades.
The movement to allow women to drive has been gaining momentum and support in Saudi Arabia.
Recently, a university student was reported to have asked the Minister of the National Guard Prince Abdullah Bin Meteib about the driving ban during a conference on the challenges facing the Saudi national economy organised in the King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. However, the Prince refused to comment on the issue.

Meanwhile, the Prince of the Jizan region Mohammed Bin Nasser said that there was no system that prevents or allows women to drive in the Kingdom, pointing out that there are laws that are difficult to change or limit.

Writer, Abdullah Al-Moghathi said through his Twitter account that women driving cars in Saudi Arabia is an inevitable reality. Al-Moghathi responded to a follower who supports the ban saying:

"You will see women driving some day, and you will wonder how did we ever oppose it just as we opposed educating them in the past."

Saudi woman divorces wife for driving car

On May 13, 2014  the Press Trust of India reports below. A link to the story is here..

A Saudi woman's bid to surprise her husband with a video clip of her driving a car backfired when he decided to divorce her for defying the Kingdom's ban on female driving and violating social traditions.

The man in Eastern Province received the short video clip on his cell phone through the mobile application - Whatsapp sent by his wife who wanted to surprise him with her act.

The man, who was sulking that his wife took the decision to drive in public without informing him, argued that his wife had violated the and social traditions. He then decided to end their married life, the News reported.

He told the judge that he did not beat or hit his wife after watching the clip and that he simply asked her to go and stay with her family until the divorce papers are finalised.

There is a de facto ban on female drivers in . Women in Saudi Arabia have been defying their nation's de facto ban on driving by getting behind the steering wheel.

Social traditions against driving are so strict that only few women mustard courage to drive in public. Besides, those who do so are often stopped by the traffic police for driving without a Saudi driving licence, which usually results in signing a pledge not to drive again.