At least 29 women in Saudi Arabia drove their cars on Friday, after internet campaigns, inspired by the uprisings across the Arab world, urged them to flout the country’s de facto ban on female drivers.
At least one woman is believed to have been arrested in Riyadh, the kingdom’s capital and one of its most conservative cities, for driving her car, online activists say. She was later released.
Maha al-Qahtani, 39, drove for 35 minutes in Riyadh with her husband in the passenger seat. “This is my basic right. It should not be a big deal – there is nothing wrong or illegal about driving,” Ms Qahtani, a state employee, told the Financial Times. “The decision to ban driving proves how backward the regime is.”… (more)
