Source: Wall Street Journal
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—When this kingdom’s ban on women driving ends Sunday, many Saudi women say they still face a major obstacle to getting behind the wheel: the opposition of conservative men.
Some women who are otherwise excited by the idea of driving worry they will be harassed by men on the road or by relatives ashamed of their own family breaking a cultural taboo. Some men have openly vowed to menace women drivers, sparking the Saudi government to issue a new antiharassment law that came into effect earlier this month.
Alanoud Hakami, who is 22 and lives in Jeddah, said she has no plans to get a driver’s license out of fear of harassment, which her husband and father have both warned her about. They drive her to work as a handbag saleswoman and oppose her driving.
Categories: Middle East, Saudi Arabia, The Muslim Times, Women