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| Arabia |
| Saudi clerics would ease driving ban for wimmins |
| 2014-11-08 |
| Saudi Arabia's royal-appointed advisory council recommended to the government for the first time that the blanket ban on women driving be lifted, but with conditions. Only women over 30 will be allowed behind the wheel and only until 8pm each day, and no makeup allowed while driving, a council member said Friday. The Shura Council's recommendations are not obligatory on the government. But simply making the recommendation was a startling shift after years of the kingdom staunchly rejecting any review of the ban. The driving ban, which is unique in the world, is imposed because the clerics say licentiousness will spread if women drive. The Shura Council made the recommendations in a secret, closed session held in the past month. The conditions also require that a woman driver wear decent dress and no make-up, the official said. Within cities, they can drive without a male guardian in the car, but outside of cities, a male is required to be present. The council said a "female traffic department" will have to be created so that a woman officer would deal with female drivers if their cars broke down or faced assaults, the council member said. It recommended the female traffic officers be under the supervision of the "religious agencies." The driving ban has long forced families to hire live-in drivers for women. Women who can't afford the $300 to $400 a month for a driver must rely on male relatives to drive them to work, school, shopping or the doctor. |
| Posted by:Steve White |