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Last week, the Saudi government issued a royal decree allowing Saudi women to drive. Saudi Arabia is the last country to ban women from driving, and this law will mark the first time in its history that women will have this right.
The law was rightly heralded as a great moment for the country and the women who live there. The refusal to allow women to drive was seen as a symbol of the country’s oppression of women. It caused hardship, forcing women to spend money on drivers, or rely on male relatives. It kept many women out of jobs because they lacked reliable transportation.
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is “a great step in the right direction for that country,” said </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-women-drive.html?_r=0"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Heather Nauert</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the State Department’s spokeswoman. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I think our society is ready,” said </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-women-drive.html?_r=0"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Prince Khalid bin Salman</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, son of the king and the Saudi ambassador. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But while momentous, the decision to allow women to drive does not come close to putting them on even footing with Saudi men. </span></p><p><div data-conversation-spotlight=""></div></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Saudi women are subjected to “guardianship” laws, which give men power over their female relatives. </span><a href="https://thesocialedgen.wpengine.com/social/saudi-women-protest-guardianship/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Under the current system</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, these laws are far-ranging. Saudi women must have the consent of a man to marry or travel abroad—even to exit prison. In some cases, receiving hospital care requires a male guardian’s permission. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although, just in the last decade, the government eliminated the requirement that Saudi women receive permission from a male guardian prior to securing employment, many private places of employment—including some universities—continue to follow the practice, and will not hire a female employee without a guardian’s consent. The government turns a blind eye. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The guardian is usually a male relative—most often a husband, father or brother. However, in the case of a widow, the guardian can even be the woman’s son. “My son is my guardian, believe it or not, and this is really humiliating. . . . My son, the one I delivered, the one I raised, he is my guardian,” said </span><a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/16/boxed/women-and-saudi-arabias-male-guardianship-system"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sura</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a 62-year-old Saudi woman. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A woman’s freedom is highly dependent on the benevolence of the guardian. The </span><a href="https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G09/128/22/PDF/G0912822.pdf?OpenElement"><span style="font-weight: 400;">United Nations</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> has linked violence against women to the male guardianship system along with enforced gender segregation, which both limit women’s ability to escape or report violence. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We all have to live in the borders of the boxes our dads and husbands draw for us,” said </span><a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/16/boxed/women-and-saudi-arabias-male-guardianship-system"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Zahra</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a 25-year old Saudi woman. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Saudi women, and women internationally, have been protesting these draconian laws. “The fact that Saudi women are still forced to get a male guardian’s permission to travel, work, or do anything else is a long-standing rights violation and a barrier to the government’s plan to improve the economy,” said Human Rights Watch’s Middle East director </span><a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/07/16/saudi-arabia-male-guardianship-boxes-women"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sarah Leah Whitson</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in 2016. “The government should do itself a favor and finally listen to the demands of half its population to be freed from the shackles of the guardianship system.” </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Prince Khalid bin Salman said that women would be able to obtain a driver’s license without the permission of a male guardian, but the remaining guardianship laws, for now, remain unchanged. This is true despite the government’s announcement in April 2016 of its </span><a href="https://thesocialedgen.wpengine.com/social/saudi-women-protest-guardianship/2/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vision 2030</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> campaign, which affirmed that the government “will continue to develop talents, invest in [women’s] productive capabilities and enable them to strengthen their future.” </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But protesters want change now. </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-women-drive.html?_r=0"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Manal-al-Sharif</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a Saudi women’s rights advocate who posted a video to YouTube in 2011 showing her driving, celebrated the right to drive victory, but said the next campaign would be to end guardianship laws. </span></p><p>[embed]&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2017%2F09%2F26%2Fworld%2Fmiddleeast%2Fsaudi-arabia-women-drive.html[/embed]</p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Saudi women have been told for decades achieving their rights will just take time,” said </span><a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/07/16/saudi-arabia-male-guardianship-boxes-women"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whitson</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. “Saudi women shouldn’t have to wait a moment longer to be treated as equal members of Saudi society.” </span></p>
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