February 04th, 2011

Outside the major cities, reportedly it is common and accepted for women to drive. Mainly, it is because women need to drive in order to run errands while their husbands are at work. In rural areas, towns, businesses and homes are so spread apart that it would be impossible to live without having a car and for most families in rural areas they do not have the budget to hire a private driver. An article for MidEastPosts describes it as a “don’t ask, don’t tell policy.”

The author, Rob Wagner, who was the managing editor of the Saudi Gazette, writes in the article that technically there is no law that says that women cannot drive and that Sharia law does not address the issue.

Wagner quotes Abdullah Alami, a Saudi economist who is advocating to lift the ban.“You see, Islam calls for protecting women’s legitimate rights,” Alami says “Driving is a right for women, as it is for men. Article 32 of the Saudi Traffic Regulations provides that. It’s prohibited for any ‘person’ driving a vehicle before getting a driver’s license. Based on this text, the term ‘person’ isn’t limited to males.”

While women driving in rural areas is good news, the ban is still in effect in the cities.