Saudi Arabia considers easing women’s driving ban

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – It’s only for women over 30, who must be off the road by 8 p.m. and cannot wear makeup behind the wheel. But it’s still a startling idea.

The Saudi king’s advisory council – whose suggestions are not binding – has recommended that the government lift its ban on female drivers, a member of the council told the Associated Press on Friday. Local media subsequently quoted an official denying the report.

There have been years of campaigning against the kingdom’s staunch rejection of any review of the ban. Though they are not obligatory on the government, simply making such a recommendation would be a major step after years of the kingdom staunchly rejecting any review of the ban.

There have been small but increasingly bold protests by women who took to their cars over the past year. The driving ban, which is unique in the world, is imposed because the kingdom’s ultraconservative Muslim clerics say “licentiousness” will spread if women drive.

The council member said the Shura Council made the recommendations in a secret, closed session held in the past month. The member spoke on condition of anonymity because the recommendations had not been made public.

After the AP story first appeared, Shura Council spokesman Mohammed al-Muhanna told Al-Riyadh newspaper that reports about “the approval of the council of women driving” are not true.

There was no mention of the recommendation by the Saudi Press Agency, the kingdom’s official state news agency. Al-Muhanna could not be reached directly, and other officials declined to comment publicly.

Under the recommendations outlined by the council member speaking to AP, only women over 30 would be allowed to drive and they would need permission from a male relative – usually a husband or father, but lacking those, a brother or son. They would be allowed to drive from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday through Wednesday and noon to 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.

The conditions would also require that a woman driver wear conservative dress and no makeup, the official said. Within cities, they can drive without a male relative in the car, but outside of cities, a male is required to be present.

The council said a “female traffic department” would have to be created to deal with female drivers if their cars broke down or they encountered other problems, and to issue fines. It recommended the female traffic officers be under the supervision of the “religious agencies,” the council member said.

The council placed heavy restrictions on interactions between female drivers and male traffic officers or other male drivers.

The 150-member Shura Council is appointed by the king, drawing on various sectors of society to act as the closest thing to a parliament in the kingdom, though it has no legislative powers. King Abdullah appointed women to it for the first time, and now there are 30 female members.

The ban is part of the general restrictions imposed on women based on the strict interpretation of Islamic Shariah law known as Wahhabism. Guardianship laws require women to get permission from a male relative to travel, get married, enroll in higher education or undergo certain surgical procedures.

Female activists launched their latest campaign to defy the driving ban on Oct. 26, when dozens of women drove around their neighborhoods and posted video clips of themselves driving on social networking sites.

The campaign prompted authorities to issue a statement warning violators would be dealt with firmly. Saudi Arabia has no written law barring women from driving – only fatwas, or religious edicts, by senior clerics.