Should Women Drive in Saudi Arabia?

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Recommended: Gender roles in the middle east

As most people know, Saudi Arabia is one of the most if not the most conservative country in the world, and the only country that prevents women from the right of driving. However, things are about to change as a group of activists launched a campaign called "October 26 driving". Basically, this campaign encourages all women to just get in the car and drive on October 26th. This campaign has started a huge debate whether women should drive in Saudi Arabia or not.

Anyone who's been raised in the west would ask why shouldn't they drive? However, you need to understand the situation in Saudi Arabia first. The way people drive in Saudi Arabia is insane. I mean imagine that all cars are not following the traffic laws. You can go as fast as the car goes and you wouldn't be stopped at all. Leading to the deaths of nineteen people every day in the country’s roads. To understand the situation in Saudi Arabia better, you need to know about the social traditions and how people live. Saudis believe women are not supposed to reveal their bodies and only reveal their faces. That is because Islam says so. However, more and more teenagers in public , even in the highways, are harassing women which led to the establishment of the religious police. Religious police's role is simply to make sure no one harasses any woman and roads stay safe. People who are against the campaign are reasoning with both points mentioned. First, the traffic laws are not strict, and more cars and drivers would only make things worse. Second, the society is not ready to accept the fact that a woman can drive.

People who are pro-campaign are saying there are no specific laws that prevent women from driving, and they're totally right. There is no such law that...

... middle of paper ...

...can assure you that 10 years from now, women will be driving on the street.

The constitution in Saudi Arabia is taken from Quran and Sunnah. Every law they make is based on what Quran says. When you come the subject of driving of women and look it up in Quran, you wouldn't find anything that says it is forbidden. Therefore, the Saudi government cannot ban women any longer because it is not based on Quran, therefore "The constitution".

In summary, Saudi Arabia is a conservative country and the debate about should women drive has shown us that people are at the edge of changing. Women have every right to drive and the government should take some serious steps to make that happen. It should allow them to drive while satisfying both sides because each side has valid points, and the only way this is going to work is new laws that assure women can safely drive.

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