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FILE - In
this Friday, April 29, 2011 file photo, a Saudi woman attends a traditional
Arda dance, or War dance, during the Janadriyah Festival of Heritage and
Culture, on the outskirts of the Saudi capital Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi King
Abdullah has given the kingdom's women the right to vote for first time in
nationwide local elections, due in 2015. The king said in an annual speech on
Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011 before his advisory assembly, or Shura Council, that
Saudi women will be able to run and cast ballots in the 2015 municipal
elections. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
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CAIRO (AP)
— A Saudi activist will stand trial for defying the kingdom's ban on female
drivers, a lawyer and rights advocates said Sunday, revealing clear limits on
how far the conservative Muslim land is willing to go to grant women greater
rights.
Just a day
earlier, King Abdullah, who is regarded as a reformer by Saudi standards,
decreed that women would be allowed for the first time to vote and run as
candidates in elections for municipal councils starting in 2015. He also
promised to appoint women after two years to the Shura Council, the currently
all-male consultative body with no legislative powers.
Activists
in Saudi Arabia and abroad welcomed the changes as a step in the right
direction, while urging the kingdom to end all discrimination against women.
Some also pointed to the case against Najalaa Harriri as evidence of how far
the kingdom still has to go on the path of reforms.
Harriri was
among the dozens of Saudi women to challenge the country's longtime ban on
driving in a campaign that began in June. In a nod to the power of social
media, the campaigners posted video of themselves behind the wheel on the Web,
drawing international attention at a time of great tumult across the Arab
world.
She was
summoned for questioning on Sunday by the prosecutor general in the western
port city of Jeddah, according to attorney Waleed Aboul Khair. She will stand
trial in a month, joining several other women currently on trial for driving.
Activists
say the trials reveal a gap between the image the kingdom wants to show to the
outside world and the reality on the ground in the ultraconservative nation.
"I
believe that Saudi Arabia has always had two kinds of rhetoric, one for outside
consumption to improve the image of the kingdom and a more restrictive one that
accommodates the religious establishment inside," Aboul Khair said.
In Saudi
Arabia, no woman can travel, work, marry, get divorced, gain admittance to a
public hospital or live independently without permission from a
"mahram," or male guardian. Men can beat women who don't obey them
and fathers or brothers have the right to prevent their female relatives from
getting married if they don't approve of her suitor.
"Right
now, women are harassed and they get dragged to courts and nothing has changed
in this respect," said Aboul Khair, who himself has been referred to court
after challenging the social restrictions women face as well as other issues.
His trial has yet to start.
Saudi
Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women — both Saudi and
foreign — from driving. The prohibition forces families to hire live-in
drivers, and those who cannot 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.
In a
high-profile case that triggered the June Internet campaign, Manal al-Sherif
was detained for more than 10 days after appearing in a video clip driving her
car and calling for a mass driving protest on June 17. Al-Sherif, an IT expert,
was released after signing a pledge not to drive again or speak to reporters.
Since then,
Harriri and dozens of other Saudi women have followed her lead. Harriri also
helped start a similar campaign this month called "My Right, My
Dignity" that calls for an end to all forms of discrimination against
women.
In most
cases, the women are stopped by police and held until a male guardian is
summoned and the women sign a pledge not to drive again. Some are referred to
court.
Harriri
refused to sign, according to Samar Badawi, another female activist who was
present at the police station with her three weeks ago.
"Najalaa
is not the only one. I've received phone calls from many women who get detained
and referred to trial," Badawi said. "At court, you have one of two
options: either the judge issues a sentence or closes the case."
The ban is
rooted in religious edicts and Saudi Arabia's conservative traditional culture,
which views limitations on women's freedom of movement as a necessity to
prevent sins.
However,
there is no written law banning women from driving. As a result, there is no
set punishment for the offense.
Also,
activists like Badawi argue this means there is no legal basis for brining the
women to trial.
She notes
that she has been driving every two or three days in Jeddah since June and
without a problem. The port city is notably more liberal than the capital,
Riyadh, and other parts of the country.
"We
are marginalized in very basic rights," said Badawi, who was sentenced
herself to six months in prison for disobeying her father. "They think
that by giving us some political rights, we will be pleased and shut up."
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