Saudi woman sentenced to 10 lashes for challenging driving ban
Author: Nehal El-Sherif
Cairo (dpa) - A Jeddah court on Tuesday sentenced a woman to 10 lashes for defying Saudi Arabia's ban on women driving.
Other women are believed to be facing similar charges for driving, rights activists said online.
The sentence comes two days after King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz announced that women will be appointed as members of the parliament, and be allowed to run for municipal elections in 2015.
"This all proves that the kingdom has two levels of addresses, one for foreign sides and another local repressive one," Saudi rights advocate Waleed Abul Khair wrote on his Twitter account.
Amnesty International stated Tuesday that the sentence "demonstrates the scale of discrimination against women in the kingdom."
"Belatedly allowing women to vote in council elections is all well and good, but if they are still going to face being flogged for trying to exercise their right to freedom of movement, then the king's much-trumpeted 'reforms' actually amount to very little," said Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director Philip Luther.
Saudi Arabia remains the only predominantly Muslim country that has yet to allow women the right to vote or drive. Although there is no law that bans females from driving, licenses are not issued to women.
Saudi Arabian women are also still fighting to abolish male guardianship laws, which require many women to have male chaperones, and end segregation of the sexes.
"Saudi Arabia needs to go much further. The whole system of women's subordination to men in Saudi Arabia needs to be dismantled," Luther added.
Since June, scores of women have driven vehicles in Saudi cities to put pressure on the monarchy to change the law.
The "Women2Drive" movement began online to encourage women to drive as part of their normal daily activities, rather than converging in one place.
Published here, here and here
Cairo (dpa) - A Jeddah court on Tuesday sentenced a woman to 10 lashes for defying Saudi Arabia's ban on women driving.
Other women are believed to be facing similar charges for driving, rights activists said online.
The sentence comes two days after King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz announced that women will be appointed as members of the parliament, and be allowed to run for municipal elections in 2015.
"This all proves that the kingdom has two levels of addresses, one for foreign sides and another local repressive one," Saudi rights advocate Waleed Abul Khair wrote on his Twitter account.
Amnesty International stated Tuesday that the sentence "demonstrates the scale of discrimination against women in the kingdom."
"Belatedly allowing women to vote in council elections is all well and good, but if they are still going to face being flogged for trying to exercise their right to freedom of movement, then the king's much-trumpeted 'reforms' actually amount to very little," said Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director Philip Luther.
Saudi Arabia remains the only predominantly Muslim country that has yet to allow women the right to vote or drive. Although there is no law that bans females from driving, licenses are not issued to women.
Saudi Arabian women are also still fighting to abolish male guardianship laws, which require many women to have male chaperones, and end segregation of the sexes.
"Saudi Arabia needs to go much further. The whole system of women's subordination to men in Saudi Arabia needs to be dismantled," Luther added.
Since June, scores of women have driven vehicles in Saudi cities to put pressure on the monarchy to change the law.
The "Women2Drive" movement began online to encourage women to drive as part of their normal daily activities, rather than converging in one place.
Published here, here and here
