Motorist Caught for DWW

The good old Arab News has something worth a chuckle or a sigh most days. Today it's a report about a motorist who was caught for DWW: Driving While Woman:-

According to yesterday’s Al-Madinah daily, Saudi Highway Patrol officers pulled over a car on the Madinah-Jeddah highway because they noticed a woman driving.

When the officers approached the car, both the woman and the man seated next to her rolled down the windows and asked if there was a problem. When questioned, the two explained that they were brother and sister and were driving from Kuwait to Jeddah. The brother, who got tired of driving, gave his sister the wheel so he could take a nap.

After officers pointed out that women were not allowed to drive in the Kingdom, the brother and sister pleaded ignorance.

The officers issued a warning to the siblings and let them go about their journey on the condition that the brother drives the rest of the way. (Because, after all, it’s much better for a tired, travel-weary man to drive a car than any woman!)

Reading the last paragraph you can tell that the writer does not approve of the current law regarding women drivers in Saudi. Although the media in Saudi Arabia is heavily censored, the English language newspapers are sometimes able to get away with indirect criticisms of the government because they are mainly read only by the ex-pat community.

The article continues:-

The Saudi press consistently reports instances of women getting caught behind the wheel. Usually these “offenders” sneak the family car out of the house — without the knowledge of their male guardians — for a joy ride but what made this situation unique was the fact that the woman was accompanied by a man.

In 2006 women were even forbidden from driving golf carts at a cultural festival. Apparently, there is a "League of Demanders of Women's Right to Drive Cars in Saudi Arabia" and on the Saudi National day (23 September) this year, they submitted a petition to King Abdullah requesting that women be allowed to drive.

Best of luck to them; they can't be any more dangerous than their male compatriots!