Saudi Arabia’s women in driver’s seat

Outside a sprawling shopping centre in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, young single men and women walk through an open-air exhibit where Saudi women and traffic police explain the ins and outs of handling a car.

Just four years ago, this government-sponsored event was an unthinkable scene in the deeply religious and socially conservative country.

But the most visible sign of change came yesterday, when women in Saudi Arabia were allowed to drive, ending a ban that had stained the kingdom’s reputation globally, kept women subjugated in the backseat and hindered the full potential of the country’s economic growth.

The move places Saudi women at the heart of a major transformation being spearheaded by the country’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It also places women at the centre of a tug-of-war between those agitating for more openings and a religious majority that remains wary of changes that could be influenced by the West.

Allowing musical concerts, opening cinemas, easing restrictions on gender segregation and reigning in the powers of the religious police have all been signature reforms of the young prince. The message pushed by officials is that Saudi Arabia is modernising, not Westernising.

Just last month, several prominent women’s rights activists who were at the forefront of calls to lift the driving ban were arrested. At least 10 are still being held.

“It looks like the only reform they want is the one that comes from above and any sort of calls for changes, no matter how positive they are and will benefit the country, will not be tolerated from below,” said Kareem Chehayeb, a researcher at Amnesty International.