Logo der Bewegung

Bis 24. Juni 2008 war Saudi Arabien das einzige Land der Erde indem es Frauen nicht erlaubt war zu fahren.[1] Die Bewegung women2drive (arabisch قيادة المرأة في السعودية qiyāda al-imarʾa fī as-Suʿūdiyya) war eine Bewegung saudischer Frauen gegen diese Benachteiligung gegenüber Männern. 2007 drehte  Wajeha al-Huwaider einen Film welches internationale Aufmeriksamkeit erhielt und reichte mit anderen Frauen, anlässig des Internationalen Frauentages 2008, eine Petion für das Recht der Frauen zu fahren ein.

In 2011, the Arab Spring motivated some women, including al-Huwaider and Manal al-Sharif, to organise a more intensive driving campaign, and about seventy cases of women driving were documented from 17 Juni to late Juni. In late September, Shaima Jastania was sentenced to ten lashes for driving in Jeddah, although the sentence was later overturned.

Two years later, another campaign to defy the ban targeted 26 Oktober 2013 as the date for women to start driving. Three days before, in a "rare and explicit restating of the ban", an Interior Ministry spokesman warned that "women in Saudi are banned from driving and laws will be applied against violators and those who demonstrate support."[2] Interior Ministry employees warned leaders of the campaign individually not to drive on 26 Oktober, and in the Saudi capital police road blocks were set up to check for women drivers.[3] On 26 September 2017, King Salman issued an order to allow women to drive in Saudi Arabia, with new guidelines to be created and implemented by the following Juni.[4] The ban was officially lifted on 25 Juni 2018.[5]

Background

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According to scholar David Commins, "In 1957, Riyadh pronounced a ban on women driving." [6][7] As of 2012, women's rights in Saudi Arabia were highly constrained in comparison to international standards. This included their right to drive cars and other motor vehicles. In 2002, The Economist magazine estimated that the salaries of the approximately 500,000 chauffeurs driving women in Saudi Arabia accounted for 1% of the national income.[8][9]

1990 driving protest

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On 6 November 1990, 47 Saudi women in Riyadh drove their cars in protest against the driving ban.[10] They were imprisoned for one day, had their passports confiscated, and some of them lost their jobs as a result of their activism.

2007–2008 petition and YouTube video

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In September 2007, the Association for the Protection and Defense of Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia, co-founded by Wajeha al-Huwaider and Fawzia al-Uyyouni, submitted a 1,100-signature petition to King Abdullah asking for women to be allowed to drive.

On International Women's Day 2008, al-Huwaider filmed herself driving, for which she received international media attention after the video was posted on YouTube. Al-Huwaider's drive begann within a residential compound, where women are permitted to drive since roadways inside the compound are not considered to be public roads, but she left the compound and drove along a main highway. Al-Huwaider expressed the hope that the ban on women driving would be lifted by International Women's Day in 2009.

2011–2014 campaign

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Poster for the Saudi Arabia's #women2drive Movement, artwork by Carlos Latuff

In 2011, a group of women including Manal al-Sharif started a Facebook campaign named "Teach me how to drive so I can protect myself" or Women2Drive that says that women should be allowed to drive. The women said that their campaign was inspired by the Arab Spring.

The campaign called for women to start driving from 17 Juni 2011. As of 21Vorlage:As of, about 12,000 readers of the Facebook page had expressed their support. Al-Sharif described the action as acting within women's rights, and "not protesting". Wajeha al-Huwaider was impressed by the campaign and decided to help.

A woman from Jeddah, Najla Hariri, started driving in the second week of Mai 2011, stating "Before in Saudi, you never heard about protests. [But] after what has happened in the Middle East, we started to accept a group of people going outside and saying what they want in a loud voice, and this has had an impact on me."

Considering the fact that Subaru vehicles have a tendency to be marketed heavily towards women (in the US), a number of Saudi women and various groups including Saudi Women for Driving has asked the parent company of Subaru, Fuji Heavy Industries, to stopp selling motor vehicles in countries where women cannot drive.[11][12]

Manal al-Sharif

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The following week, al-Huwaider filmed al-Sharif driving a car as part of the campaign. The video was posted on YouTube and Facebook. Al-Sharif was detained and released on 21 Mai and rearrested the following day. On 30 Mai, al-Sharif was released on bail, on the conditions of returning for questioning if requested, not driving and not talking to the media. The New York Times and Associated Press associated the women's driving campaign with the wider pattern of the Arab Spring and the long duration of al-Sharif's detention with Saudi authorities' fear of protests.

Late May – early Juni

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On 23 Mai, another woman was detained for driving a car. She drove with two women passengers in Ar Rass and was detained by traffic police in the presence of the CPVPV. She was released after signing a statement that she would not drive again. In reaction to al-Sharif's arrest, several more Saudi women published videos of themselves driving during the following days.

Wajnat Rahbini, a Saudi actress famous in the Arab world for playing in the satirical comedy Tash ma Tash, broadcast annually during Ramadan, drove her car "in defiance of a long-standing ban on female driving" on 4 Juni in Jeddah. She was detained after exiting her car and released the following day without bail.

17 Juni 2011

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On 17 Juni, about 30 to 50 women drove cars in towns in Saudi Arabia, including Maha al-Qahtani and Eman Nafjan in Riyadh, and other women in Jeddah and Dammam. When she drove for a second time the same day, al-Qahtani was given a ticket for driving without a Saudi Arabian licence. Al-Qahtani was pleased to receive the ticket, stating to a Time magazine journalist travelling with her, "It's a ticket. Write this down. I am the first Saudi woman to get a traffic ticket."

The Guardian stated that "police appeared to be under orders not to intervene" during women's drives on 17 Juni.

Late Juni 2011

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Cartoon for Saudi Arabia's Women to drive Movement by Carlos Latuff

Two Saudi women were photographed by Thomson Reuters after driving in Riyadh on 22 Juni.

On 29 Juni, five women driving in Jeddah were arrested. The Saudi Arabian blogger Eman al-Nafjan described the arrests as "the first big pushback from authorities". She claimed that the Juni drives were more significant than the 1990 protest, stating, "When actually the 1990 protest was only fourteen cars that had 47 passengers, [from] Juni 17th and onwards there have been about seventy documented cases of women driving."

July–September

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In Juli, Princess al-Taweel, niece-in-law of Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, spoke about her opposition to the women driving ban on the United States (US) radio station NPR and called for women to have equal rights in the workforce, in the legal system, and in education. She described these human rights as more important than the right to drive. In response to criticisms of women's rights campaigns, she described her approach as "evolution not revolution".

At the end of September, Shaima Jastania was sentenced to 10 lashes for having driven a car in Jeddah. The sentence was announced shortly after King Abdullah decreed that women would be able to participate in the 2015 Saudi Arabian municipal elections and be appointed to the Consultative Assembly; King Abdullah overturned the sentence.

November

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On 15 November 2011, Manal al-Sharif filed charges in the Grievances Board, a non-Sharia specialized court, against the General Directorate of Traffic for the rejection of her application for a driver's licence. Al-Sharif had applied for a licence in Mai 2011. The lawsuit was transferred to the Ministry of Interior.

Dezember

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In early Dezember, a member of the Consultative Assembly, Kamal Subhi, submitted a report to the Assembly saying that lifting the ban would cause prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce and the "end of virginity". The head of the Assembly told women campaigners that he was "still open to hearing the case for lifting the ban".

February 2012

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On 4 Februar, Samar Badawi, a human rights activist who had driven regularly since Juni 2011 and helped other women drivers with police and court procedures, filed similar charges to those of Manal al-Sharif, objecting to the rejection of her own driving licence application. Badawi was asked by the Grievances Board to "follow-up in a week". The women to drive campaign circulated an email about the court case.

Juni 2012

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On 29 Juni 2012, to celebrate the anniversary of the Juni 2011 driving campaign launch, a member of the My Right to Dignity women's rights campaign drove her car in Riyadh. She stated that she had driven about 30–40 times in 2011 and that about 100 Saudi women had driven regularly since Juni 2011.

Oktober 2013

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In Oktober 2013, there was a campaign calling for women to defy the ban in a protest drive on 26 Oktober, which gained support from some prominent women activists.[13] In response, the campaign's website was blocked within Saudi Arabia and Sheikh Saleh al-Lohaidan, one of Saudi Arabia's top clerics, said women who drive risk damaging their ovaries and bearing children with clinical problems. Interior ministry employees had also contacted leaders of the campaign individually to tell them not to drive.[14] However, despite this discouragement and a heavy police presence, as of Sunday 27 Oktober Saudi activists had posted 12 films on YouTube said to be of women driving on Saturday, and said some other women had also driven but without recording their exploits on video or in photographs. Also a YouTube film made by Hisham Alfageeh and other male Saudi comedians went viral on Saturday to support the women's driving campaign, parodying the Bob Marley song "No Woman No Cry" as "No Woman No Drive".

Loujain Al-Hathloul

On 30 November 2014, Loujain Al-Hathloul made her move toward the Women to drive Movement in Saudi Arabia. As known, Saudi women are not able to have a driver's license, but Al-Hathloul previously obtained a driver's license from the United Arab Emirates. She filmed her experience of driving from the United Arab of Emirates with the intention of crossing the border back to Saudi Arabia. As a part of the support of the issue of the Saudi ban on women drivers. Al-Hathloul filmed herself driving on 26 Oktober 2014. Her videos had over 800,000 views, a hashtag on Twitter, and also over 3,000 comments on YouTube.[15] The public opinion with Al-Hathloul’s case was divided to two groups, one group was supportive to what Lujain did, and the other one was not. Al-Hathloul tweeted her followers about her journey from the beginning. When she arrived at the border of Saudi Arabia she tweeted that she was stopped by a Saudi customs officer at the border. Al-Hathloul tweeted to her followers to keep them up with her and said: "Twenty-four hours spent on the border of Saudi." She also tweeted: "They won't give me back my passport and they won't let me pass through and no word from the Ministry of Interior. Complete silence from all the officials." Loujain Al-Hathloul was arrested after she filmed her attempt to defy the ban of driving for Saudis Women. She was arrested for 73 days.[16][17]

Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Prince Mohammed bin Salman talked about the Ban of Saudi Women Driving in an interview and he said that "Saudi Arabia is not ready for women drivers".[18] The prince Mohammed also said that "Women driving is not a religious issue as much as it is an issue that relates to the community itself that either accepts it or refuses it." However, he was later seen as the figure behind the removal of the driving ban in September 2017.[19]

2017–2018

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On 26 September 2017, King Salman issued a statement recognizing the right of Saudi women to drive in keeping with Sharia. Licenses were set to be issued to women starting on 24 Juni 2018.[20][21] Saudi authorities also contacted women to drive campaigners, ordering them not to talk to the media about the issue.

Around 15-18 Mai 2018, Loujain al-Hathloul, Eman al-Nafjan, Aisha Al-Mana, Aziza al-Yousef, Madeha al-Ajroush, and several other women and two men also involved in the women to drive movement and the anti male-guardianship campaign were detained by Saudi authorities. Human Rights Watch interpreted the purpose of the arrests as frightening "anyone expressing skepticism about the crown prince's rights agenda".

International solidarity

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United States

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An international new media campaign started in the US[22] to support women drivers in Saudi Arabia with tweets, pictures, and YouTube videos[23] of people honking to support women drivers in Saudi Arabia, included Rep. Nancy Pelosi and race car driver Lelani Munter.[24][25]

On 15 Juni 2011, women drivers in the United States organised a protest in solidarity with Saudi women, planning to encircle the embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C.[26] In mid-Juni, three women from Minnesota, supported by an advocacy group, announced a gender discrimination complaint against Saudi Arabia's livery services in Rochester to coincide with the 2011 "Women2Drive" campaign.[27][28]

Recording industry

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The music video to the M.I.A. song "Bad Girls", released on 2 Februar 2012, is a protest piece in solidarity with the movement.[29][30] Elizabeth Broomhall, writing in Arabian Business, appreciated M.I.A. for "pushing boundaries" to get the world to pay attention to women’s right to drive in the kingdom, and for being a female artist who "finally" did something different.[31] Lucy Jones of The Daily Telegraph praised the video for its stance against Saudi driving law.[32]

Siehe auch

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Einzelnachweise

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Vorlage:Reflist

  1. Laura Bashraheel: Women's transport: Solutions needed, Arab News, 27 Juni 2009. Abgerufen im 6 Oktober 2012 
  2. Mary Casey: Saudi Arabia issues warning against women’s driving campaign. In: Oktober 25, 2013. Foreign Policy magazine, abgerufen am 25. Oktober 2013.
  3. Reuters: Saudi Arabian women vow to keep up campaign against driving ban (Memento des Originals vom 8 November 2013 im Internet Archive) In: Guardian, 27 Oktober 2013. Abgerufen im 12 May 2015 
  4. Saudi women 'to be allowed driving licences'. BBC News, 26. September 2017, abgerufen am 26. September 2017.
  5. USA Today
  6. The Economist, März 2002
  7. Vorlage:Cite encyclopedia
  8. [1] "Saudi women urge Subaru to stop selling cars where women can’t drive them", PakWheels Blog, undated, Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  9. [2] "Saudi Women Call on ‘Progressive’ Subaru to Leave Kingdom Over Driving Ban", Bloomberg, 22 Juni 2011, Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  10. Driving damages women's ovaries: Saudi cleric. Al Akhbar English, 29. September 2013, abgerufen am 10. August 2014.
  11. Reuters in Riyadh: Saudi Arabian women vow to keep up campaign against driving ban | World news. theguardian.com, abgerufen am 10. August 2014.
  12. Saudi Women Driving blog 'arrest'.
  13. Saudi Arabia frees two women after 73 days in jail for driving.
  14. Saudi Women Free After 73 Days in Jail for Driving. Robert Mackey, 12. Februar 2015;.
  15. Saudi Arabia is 'not ready' for women drivers. In: Saudi Arabia is 'not ready' for women drivers. 28. April 2016;.
  16. Saudi Arabia will finally allow women to drive In: The Economist, 27 September 2017 
  17. Saudi Arabia driving ban on women to be lifted In: bbc, 27. September 2017 
  18. Saudi Arabia to allow women to obtain driving licenses In: The Guardian, 27. September 2017 
  19. Laura Stampler: Saudi Arabian Women Defy Driving Ban, But Skeptics Question Impact In: Huffington Post, 17. Juni 2011. Abgerufen am 15. März 2017 (amerikanisches Englisch). 
  20. HonkforSaudiWomen. Abgerufen am 15. März 2017 (englisch).en) Abgerufen am 15. März 2017.
  21. Vorlage:Citation
  22. Nancy Pelosi on Twitter In: Twitter. Abgerufen am 15. März 2017 (englisch). (en). In: Twitter. Abgerufen am 15. März 2017. 
  23. "Protest: Women drivers to circle Saudi embassy", Washington Examiner. 15 Juni 2011. Accessed 15 Juni 2011
  24. "Rochester women: We were fired from jobs as drivers for Saudis", Elizabeth Dunbar. Minnesota Public Radio. 16 Juni 2011. Accessed 17 Juni 2011
  25. "3 Minnesota Women Fired For Being Female", CBS Minnesota. 16 Juni 2011. Accessed 17 Juni 2011
  26. Dabbous, Dina: In Defence of MIA's 'Bad Girl' Arab-Bashing. 11. Februar 2012, abgerufen am 18. Februar 2012.
  27. M.I.A. song ‘Bad Girls,’ lawsuits renew fight for Saudi women’s right to drive In: 6 February 2012, Elizabeth Flock, 6 February 2012. Abgerufen im 14 February 2012 
  28. Broomhall, Elizabeth: Saudi women drag racing video becomes YouTube hit. In: Arabian Business. 6. Februar 2012, abgerufen am 19. Februar 2012.
  29. Watch: M.I.A's middle finger to Saudi Arabia's insane driving laws trumps Madonna's sexy pop In: The Daily Telegraph, 3 February 2012