THE CARMEL BEAT
The wheel of Independence – A retrospection
Shreya G A
“Before the law, we learned to drive on open grounds from the men in our family, but we were always anxious about being seen by anyone. But now, it feels great to be on the driving seat”
Seat belted and shades to protect from the blazing Saudi sun, the Saudi women look fierce with a hand on the wheel. As a result of lifting the ban on women driving 3 years ago, women in Saudi Arabia have now gone from being terrified of driving to becoming independent drivers. A fundamental yet revolutionary decision by the kingdom. A woman in Saudi is legally treated as a minor from birth, she needs the consent of the male guardian to study, travel, work, marry or obtain official documents. For decades, the royal family perpetuated unjust laws and patriarchal gender norms that undermined women's rights.
During the period of 2015-16, there was a structural change in the employment sector as the country sought to modernize. The job market became inclusive of women. These shifts in employment triggered changes in transportation. Since the government facilitates the overseas studies of the youth, there was a large pool of well-educated human resources ready to enter the workforce. According to Soghra, a former resident of SA, “Once the women were in the workstations, they began to feel more independent and naturally demanded the right to drive their vehicles. And thus, pressed on lifting the ban.”A social media presence cannot be omitted from any social movement. And this was no different. The “Women2Drive” campaign used Facebook and Twitter to encourage women to drive vehicles as a part of their routine instead of
congregating in a place. Social media certainly can be a landfill for comments and opinions. Talking about the impact, Soghra recalls the sexist memes that Instagram and Twitter had to offer during the movement. In addition to deigning messages that told women not to wear makeup while driving there were memes of traffic pileups caused by women. Despite the backlash, social media universalized the movement.
Rida Khan, who lived in Jeddah argues that, “It was mainly the working women class that faced the hassle. They were dependent on taxis or men in families to commute. After the driving allowance, the number of working women numbers escalated significantly. You can now find women everywhere as cashiers to managers. The Saudi women are well off with a private chauffeur. But it is an expensive lifestyle for the expats. The expat women were not granted licenses easily.” On similar lines, Sania Abdus Samad also says that “I wasn’t
that surprised because as an expat we receive very few benefits politically close to none. But most women were thrilled about the advancements.”
While the driving ban was hugely welcomed, it did not open up political freedoms. It was only in February 2021 that Loujain al-Hathloul, a leading activist was released after three years in jail. Fords was the first to sponsor driving schools for women before the lift. The roads of the country will see more women behind the wheel as Saudi Arabia plans to establish even more driving schools in 2021.
It now has 1,74,624 female drivers as of January 2021. Driving was more than just a movement for the women. It was a way of uniting against the norms. It was about empowering the community. A culmination of three decades of activism, three years since the lift of the ban, the land has seen women formula racers, motorists, and taxi drivers. It is quite unfortunate that the government had to “allow” women to drive. Regardless, the country is bound to many transformations in the near future and the sky is the limit for Saudi women.