Looking over the long list of women's rights abuses still prevalentin the world today, the prohibition against women driving seemsunimportant. The world's media channels would much rather giveairtime to activists fighting for the eradication of female genitalmutilation, or provide a platform for a heated debate dissectingthe pros and cons of the burqa, or analyze the always-prevalentissue of payment equality between the sexes. Yet, this simplefreedom to drive speaks volumes about the state of women's rightsin Saudi Arabia. The argument over the right to perform such acommonplace task has blown open the discussion of human rights inthe absolutist-male-dominated monarchy and cracked the airtightofficial policy on dissent itself.
Although the window of freedomhas only slid open a fraction of an inch, it has inspired women tostart claiming their rights as free citizens of Saudi Arabia. The inspiration toward nonviolent struggle often comes fromsurprising sources. Such was the case of the "illegal" rockconcerts in Czechoslovakia that moved V clav Havel to writeCharter 77 and, ultimately, to lead the struggle for a free CzechRepublic. The inspiration could be as simple as a song line: "Backto the land of their fathers, land of their fathers," which helpedinspire the Singing Revolution in Estonia that effectively ended communist rule. Every steptowards freedom must be celebrated, recorded, and supported.
The Arab Spring has confirmed that it is a disservice to branddemocracy as a "Western" ideology. Democracy, within the frameworkof individual rights, represents an inherent aspiration by allpeople to express their opinions and to hold accountable those thatthey choose to govern them. While representative democracy byitself does not ensure freedom by any means, as can be seen in manycountries, a liberal democracy that grows out of the separation ofMosque and State and the division of government against itself hasproven to be the best tool to protect the individual rights ofcitizens. Furthermore, the nations beholden to these ideas havehigher economic development rates, lift more people out of poverty,and, more importantly, have never gone to war against each other,ever. Piston Rings
In contrast, the monarchy of Saudi Arabia has ruled with absolutepower for eight decades, and fulfills none of the conditionsdescribed above. Although the nation is a signatory of the Charterof the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,and also the Arab Charter of Human Rights, Saudi Arabia continuesto deny basic freedoms to over half of its population. Article 19of the Universal Declaration of Human rights states that "everyonehas the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this rightincludes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek,receive, and impart information and ideas through any media andregardless of frontiers." Saudi Arabia denies these rights to itsfemale citizens on a daily basis. A powerful way to humanize the situation in Saudi Arabia is tolearn about Manal Al-Sharif, a Saudi woman campaigning for theright to drive in her own country. Ms. China Sintered Metal
al-Sharif traveled to Norwayto participate in the Oslo Freedom Forum , a recent annual gathering organized to promote democracy, humanrights, and justice. She shared her story of growing up female inSaudi Arabia. She told the Forum about the defiant YouTube video she posted last spring that showed her driving, and about hersubsequent imprisonment and release from jail. Her experience ledher to create a social media campaign called Women2Drive, aimed ateliminating the law against women driving. Sintered Parts
On May 10th the Oslo Freedom Forum published Ms. al-Sharif's speech on YouTube. Since then, the video has beenviewed more than 300,000 times, mostly from viewers inside the arabpeninsula. Some YouTube users have downloaded the original videofrom the Oslo Freedom Forum's YouTube channel and re-posted copieswith misleading subtitles and commentary, portraying Ms. al-Sharifas a traitor to Saudi Arabia and an enemy of Islam.
As a result,Ms. al-Sharif has been the target of thousands of attacks -- onYouTube, Twitter, blogs, online news sites, and even print media inSaudi Arabia. Some of these attacks are extremely vicious and offensive,including insults and phrases such as: "slut," "dog," "whore,""prostitute," and "traitor." Some explicitly threaten Ms. al-Sharifwith violence, sexual assault, and even death.
Saudi cleric SheikhAbdul Aziz al-Tarifi recently issued a fatwa declaring Ms.al-Sharif a "hypocrite" -- thereby questioning Ms. al-Sharif'sstatus as a Muslim and placing her under further risk. Why would a woman endure this kind of backlash to achieve such aminor freedom? Because in Saudi Arabia, it isn't a minor issue.There is no public transportation, cities are notpedestrian-friendly, and where sidewalks exist it isn't safe for awoman to walk the street. This is why women are bound to use taxisor private drivers -- draining their resources.
On average, Saudiwomen pay upwards of one-third of their salaries to drivers. Thereare more than one million private drivers -- a black market with no structure for background checks orsafety. In families that cannot afford a private driver, childrenas young as 10 serve as drivers. These factors lead to absurdly high fatalities on the roads. Perhaps not every Saudi woman wants to drive, but by denying womenthe opportunity to participate, they deny all women their fullrights as equal citizens under the law.
Ironically, the same goesfor wearing nail polish, or participating in the Olympics, both ofwhich are off-limits to Saudi women. Not every woman wants to sportblue nail polish or throw a javelin, but no government should beable to deny her the opportunity to do so. The Saudi government has made numerous promises to protect therights of its female citizens. On paper, it upholds internationalhuman rights conventions, and its leaders have assured women thatthey will gain the right to vote and hold office "in the future."Yet, these empty promises mean nothing without tangible proof ofthe government's conviction in upholding them.
Women are stilleffectively second-class citizens in their own society. They cannotstudy, marry, or travel without a male guardian's approval. Granting women the right to drive won't change the way Saudi Arabiaviews its women. But it's an urgent necessity and an opportunity tocreate a dialogue of change in the country. As Manal al-Sharifherself stated when she chose the Arabic phrase that accompaniesher social media campaign: "Teach me how to drive so I can protectmyself." Pedro Pizano is the Strategy and Development Associate for the Human Rights Foundation and Global Media Liaison for the Oslo Freedom Forum.
Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook .
Although the window of freedomhas only slid open a fraction of an inch, it has inspired women tostart claiming their rights as free citizens of Saudi Arabia. The inspiration toward nonviolent struggle often comes fromsurprising sources. Such was the case of the "illegal" rockconcerts in Czechoslovakia that moved V clav Havel to writeCharter 77 and, ultimately, to lead the struggle for a free CzechRepublic. The inspiration could be as simple as a song line: "Backto the land of their fathers, land of their fathers," which helpedinspire the Singing Revolution in Estonia that effectively ended communist rule. Every steptowards freedom must be celebrated, recorded, and supported.
The Arab Spring has confirmed that it is a disservice to branddemocracy as a "Western" ideology. Democracy, within the frameworkof individual rights, represents an inherent aspiration by allpeople to express their opinions and to hold accountable those thatthey choose to govern them. While representative democracy byitself does not ensure freedom by any means, as can be seen in manycountries, a liberal democracy that grows out of the separation ofMosque and State and the division of government against itself hasproven to be the best tool to protect the individual rights ofcitizens. Furthermore, the nations beholden to these ideas havehigher economic development rates, lift more people out of poverty,and, more importantly, have never gone to war against each other,ever. Piston Rings
In contrast, the monarchy of Saudi Arabia has ruled with absolutepower for eight decades, and fulfills none of the conditionsdescribed above. Although the nation is a signatory of the Charterof the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,and also the Arab Charter of Human Rights, Saudi Arabia continuesto deny basic freedoms to over half of its population. Article 19of the Universal Declaration of Human rights states that "everyonehas the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this rightincludes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek,receive, and impart information and ideas through any media andregardless of frontiers." Saudi Arabia denies these rights to itsfemale citizens on a daily basis. A powerful way to humanize the situation in Saudi Arabia is tolearn about Manal Al-Sharif, a Saudi woman campaigning for theright to drive in her own country. Ms. China Sintered Metal
al-Sharif traveled to Norwayto participate in the Oslo Freedom Forum , a recent annual gathering organized to promote democracy, humanrights, and justice. She shared her story of growing up female inSaudi Arabia. She told the Forum about the defiant YouTube video she posted last spring that showed her driving, and about hersubsequent imprisonment and release from jail. Her experience ledher to create a social media campaign called Women2Drive, aimed ateliminating the law against women driving. Sintered Parts
On May 10th the Oslo Freedom Forum published Ms. al-Sharif's speech on YouTube. Since then, the video has beenviewed more than 300,000 times, mostly from viewers inside the arabpeninsula. Some YouTube users have downloaded the original videofrom the Oslo Freedom Forum's YouTube channel and re-posted copieswith misleading subtitles and commentary, portraying Ms. al-Sharifas a traitor to Saudi Arabia and an enemy of Islam.
As a result,Ms. al-Sharif has been the target of thousands of attacks -- onYouTube, Twitter, blogs, online news sites, and even print media inSaudi Arabia. Some of these attacks are extremely vicious and offensive,including insults and phrases such as: "slut," "dog," "whore,""prostitute," and "traitor." Some explicitly threaten Ms. al-Sharifwith violence, sexual assault, and even death.
Saudi cleric SheikhAbdul Aziz al-Tarifi recently issued a fatwa declaring Ms.al-Sharif a "hypocrite" -- thereby questioning Ms. al-Sharif'sstatus as a Muslim and placing her under further risk. Why would a woman endure this kind of backlash to achieve such aminor freedom? Because in Saudi Arabia, it isn't a minor issue.There is no public transportation, cities are notpedestrian-friendly, and where sidewalks exist it isn't safe for awoman to walk the street. This is why women are bound to use taxisor private drivers -- draining their resources.
On average, Saudiwomen pay upwards of one-third of their salaries to drivers. Thereare more than one million private drivers -- a black market with no structure for background checks orsafety. In families that cannot afford a private driver, childrenas young as 10 serve as drivers. These factors lead to absurdly high fatalities on the roads. Perhaps not every Saudi woman wants to drive, but by denying womenthe opportunity to participate, they deny all women their fullrights as equal citizens under the law.
Ironically, the same goesfor wearing nail polish, or participating in the Olympics, both ofwhich are off-limits to Saudi women. Not every woman wants to sportblue nail polish or throw a javelin, but no government should beable to deny her the opportunity to do so. The Saudi government has made numerous promises to protect therights of its female citizens. On paper, it upholds internationalhuman rights conventions, and its leaders have assured women thatthey will gain the right to vote and hold office "in the future."Yet, these empty promises mean nothing without tangible proof ofthe government's conviction in upholding them.
Women are stilleffectively second-class citizens in their own society. They cannotstudy, marry, or travel without a male guardian's approval. Granting women the right to drive won't change the way Saudi Arabiaviews its women. But it's an urgent necessity and an opportunity tocreate a dialogue of change in the country. As Manal al-Sharifherself stated when she chose the Arabic phrase that accompaniesher social media campaign: "Teach me how to drive so I can protectmyself." Pedro Pizano is the Strategy and Development Associate for the Human Rights Foundation and Global Media Liaison for the Oslo Freedom Forum.
Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook .