Women2Drive is a campaign in Saudi Arabia that fights to give women the right to drive. Saudi Arabia has had driving outlawed for women throughout its history. This campaign is quickly gaining momentum however and striving towards making major changes to change this law.
Back in 2011, a Saudi woman, Manal al-Sharif, posted a video to YouTube of her driving a car. The video received a very negative response from the public. Manal was driving in hopes of coming across police so she could witness what the process of being arrested for driving is actually like and what the charges would be.
She was jailed under no charges. Her father had to go to King Abdullah personally to get her pardoned.
The act itself and the posting of the video was an outward expression of rebellion against the unjust laws against women in the country. It brought attention to the rest of the world of the freedoms that women are stripped of.
Manal al-Sharif came to speak at Keene State College on Oct. 11, and was a strong, independent and well-spoken woman. In the one hour that I listened to her speak of her country and what she has overcome to be in America today to speak to us, I had a whole new respect for women who live in these areas that deny them these simple freedoms.
While Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that denies women the right to drive, it is not the only country that denies them the right to interact with men in public, cover their bodies and heads in public, does not allow them to travel outside of the country or study at school without permission from a male relative, or allow them to study abroad at all, or try on clothes in stores.
With all of these restrictions, the way in which women are allowed to live their lives is extremely limited. Without being able to drive, studying and working become increasingly difficult to accomplish with no transportation. This is done purposely to support the patriarchal and archaic idea that women should be in the home, caring for a family. Women are also considered minors. They constantly have a male guardian (a father, husband, brother, in-law, etc) throughout the entirety of their life and are never regarded as competent citizens in society.
With no freedom to explore their world, you limit their freedom to then explore themselves and expand their minds. Help spread the word through social media of this campaign, and watch Manal's Ted Talk online, to help women in this country gain the rights they deserve.
