Saudi Arabia, historical decree of the king: women will be able to drive

RIAD – A historical and global taboo falls in Saudi Arabia. A decree by King Salman has finally granted women permission to drive , even if not immediately. The announcement came from the state media of Riyadh and, simultaneously with an event in Washington related to the Saudi home. The Riad ambassador to the United States commented in the evening: “It is the right time for this change because in Saudi Arabia we have a young and dynamic society. Women will not need their” guardian “to get a license”. Thus the incredible ban dissolves even in the last country where it was in force, a symbol of oppression of women.

So far, Wahabite theologians (the radical branch of Sunnism in Saudi Arabia) have spoken out against the green light of women driving, often giving surreal explanations: a right that, according to the religious, would have been “inappropriate”, “a problem for men “or” dangerous for the stability of the Kingdom “. A few days ago a rather important sheikh in the country had justified the ban because, he said in the global bewilderment, “women have a quarter of a man’s brain” .

Since 1991 (after the Gulf War) and over the years there have been several demonstrations of women who, challenging the law and arrests, have each joined the driving of their car. The revolt also continued on social networks where videos and photos of women at the wheel often appeared.

A few days ago, however, there was an important opening signal: some women had been allowed to enter a stadium for the first time. It was only the last provision of the gradual but constant opening up of the Saudi Kingdom, mainly economic but also on the granting of certain rights, simultaneously with the increasingly disruptive rise of the young prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32 years old.

The decision has mostly economic motivations, as indeed the Saudi ambassador in Washington confirmed: the Riad government is changing and modernizing its economic locomotive, also because of the low price of oil. The economy, therefore, will be more inclusive and therefore it could be important to also involve women in their own right to support the growth of a country that is less and less dependent on “black gold”.

The decree of King Salman provides for a ministerial panel to be established within 30 days to implement the revolutionary decision. The first licenses, according to the Kingdom program, should be released in June 2018.

26 September 2017