women driving in saudi

This morning I grabbed my car keys, headed out to the car with litle guy, and off to school we went, with me driving....EERRRRR...WAIT!  Just kidding.  I live in Saudi Arabia, one of the last countries in the world where women can NOT drive.

Why can women not drive in Saudi?  Hmmm.  Do you want my smart a$$ opinions or what "they" say? 

First my opinions...I pretty much believe that the people (and I'm referring to certain men) trying to enforce this rule are sexist, closed minded, and very insecure.  How can you ban women from driving?  In this day and age, it's practically a neccesity.  Btw, there is no written law that says it's illegal for women to drive in Saudi. 

Now for what "they" say..."They" say it puts women in unsafe situations and can cause her harm.  They also say it can cause bad things to happen within society.  They also try to throw down the religion card.

Here are my responses to what they say...I'm pretty sure the men (yes, there are some very cool open-minded, educated guys here who are not threatened by a woman being educated and successful) and women supporting women's right to drive just want women to be able to get from point A to point B without needing a man to get her there.  Plain and simple.

Also, to always think the worst of something, to always think of the bad things that could happen between men and women shows signs of sickness, mental sickness.  "Take your mind out of the gutter" is what I'd like to say to them.

Sure, women could be in a scary situation such as a flat tire, having an accident, etc.  But this is life.  She will have a cell phone handy, there are traffic police all around, and they even recently went on a rampage installing cameras throughout the city of Riyadh to catch traffic violators.  Use these cameras for safety as well.  And if it's still a big scare, encourage women not to drive alone after dark or in remote areas.  A little safety goes a LONG way.

And the whole religion thing really ticks me off.  I have seen time and time again "religious people" trying to say that women should do this and that because it's following Islam.  Well, guess what?  Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) first wife was older than him, had her own business, and she along with his other wives rode their own camels (the transport of the time).  So now I dare you to tell me that my religion restricts women from driving.  Don't try to alter my religion to suite your close minded ways.

And finally, what is the big deal?  Why are people fighting this?  For God's sake, let women drive.  It really doesn't need to be this dramatic.

So you obviously know my opinion on the matter.  But in the mean time, I'll be keeping my current situation of having my hubby, or driver take me to the places I need to go.  Good grief.

P.S.  "pbuh" means "peace be upon him", something Muslims usually say after the prophet's name.

image via YahooMaktoob