BBC News, 21 June 2011
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has praised "brave" Saudi women who are campaigning for the right to drive.
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| Many Saudi women defied the ban on driving by getting behind the wheel |
Mrs Clinton said they were "right" to press their demands in the ultra-conservative kingdom, in her first public comments on the issue.
Many Saudi women openly took to the roads last Friday in defiance of an official ban on female drivers.
Last month a woman was arrested after uploading a video of herself driving a car.
"What these women are doing is brave, and what they are seeking is right," Mrs Clinton told reporters when asked to comment on the campaign.
"I'm moved by it and I support them."
'Quiet diplomacy'
However, she underlined that she was not interfering in the internal affairs of Saudi Arabia, a key US ally in the Middle East.
"I want to underscore the fact that this is not coming from outside of their country. This is the women themselves seeking to be recognised," she said.
Mrs Clinton's comments came a day after a US State Department spokeswoman said Mrs Clinton was engaged in "quiet diplomacy" over the issue.
Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that Mrs Clinton had raised the driving ban issue in a recent telephone call with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.
The ban is not enforced by law, but is a religious fatwa imposed by conservative Muslim clerics.
It is one of a number of severe restrictions on women in Saudi Arabia.
Supporters say it relieves women of the obligation to drive and also prevents them from leaving home unescorted or travelling with an unrelated male.
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