Why Women Should Be Allowed To Drive In Saudi Arabia Biography Examples

There are several considerations to take into account when considering the laws and legal rights of citizens in other countries. It is important to realize that other nations and societies have different values that our own. Some Saudi Arab’s are horrified at how American women are exposed to danger by uncaring men folk who do not go with them to protect them. Just as we are appalled at the loss of freedom women suffer when they cannot drive themselves. However, Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that does not give women the right to drive. The driving restriction dates back to around 1979 and is not part of long standing Saudi law. There are Saudi women who remember when they did have more rights, including the right to drive their own automobiles.
The 1979 uprising in Iran sent out shock waves that resulted in change throughout the Mid-Eastern political climate. The post World War II, “Lines in the Sand,” drawn by the European nations to divide the Arabian Peninsula followed Western convenience and did not respect traditional boundaries. This has caused internal conflicts and divided heterogeneous cultural groups between nations. This is still sorting itself out. As a result, many nations adopt the most liberal or the most conservative of the various traditions as their legal structure. Saudi Arabia adopted the most conservative elements of each internal tribal culture and women’s rights have suffered because of this. The Qur’an does not ban women from driving. The driving ban is the result of tribal tradition, not Islamic law.
Muhammad had strong women in his life, and his laws regarding women were progressive for the time. The setbacks endured by women in Mid-Eastern culture and law are frequently of more modern origins. Women’s rights are being slowly restored in Saudi Arabia. It is hoped that the right to drive will soon be among those rights to be restored.