His Majesty Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
King
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
April 11, 2014
Re: Ending Band on Female Driving
Your Majesty:
I write to you today on behalf of the organization Amnesty International to implore you and your government to examine the impunities set upon women in your country and to make sufficient progress towards justifying the grievances against them, particularly in the area of driving.
Amnesty International is a global movement of people fighting injustice and promoting human rights around the world. With active organizations in over 150 countries and territories, we promote peace and justice through campaigning against the terrible wrongs against universally accepted standards of human rights.
It has recently come to our attention that civil movements have increasingly been occurring in your country regarding the ban on female drivers. Protestors who started movements such as the October 26 Women Driving Campaign have been arrested and prohibited from further public expression. These protestors realize that though female driving is not against the law in Saudi Arabia, the act of female driving will still result in the arrest of women who commit the offense.
In Saudi Arabia, one of the many patriarchal rules in place is that women are not allowed to drive vehicles. If a woman was to venture out in a car the police would arrest her, her legal guardian would be called, and they would both have to sign pledges stating that the incident will never happen again.
There are several human rights issues apparent in this case. Aside from the required male guardian for all women, our main argument today is with the ban on female driving. One of the mainstream human rights accepted globally is that men and women are created equal, therefore they should have equal rights. Women should be free to make their own decisions just like men, and they should have the same opportunities available in society. However, we realize that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not accept the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, so not all of its principles apply to your country’s citizens.
Even so, there are many reasons besides equality that female driving would benefit your country. If women were allowed to drive, men would have much more time to conduct their own business. Instead of driving their wives to pick up groceries, to go to the doctor, and to other necessary places, the men could work on their own tasks. Since there are no public transportation systems, right now it is impossible for women to get anywhere by themselves. In addition to transporting them to stores and appointments, men also have to drive women to schools in the case where women are getting educations. As we understand, education is important for everyone in your country, and the literacy rate is steadily increasing. If women could drive themselves to class, they would take up less of their guardians’ time, making life easier for everybody.
Another case of beneficial female driving is when men require immediate medical attention. If a man needed to go to the hospital and was incapable of driving himself, he would be stuck at home if there were no other men around to help him. If women were allowed to drive, the ill man could simply have a women drive him to get help, or she could drive to find him help.
If women were allowed to drive by the law enforcement in Saudi Arabia, the benefits would reach everybody in the community. Daily business could be conducted more efficiently, and traditional social norms could still be followed. A woman behind the wheel does not violate any government policy nor Islamic value as stated by Your Majesty and other leaders alike, so why not allow them to drive when there are so many great benefits to be had than what your country experiences at the present?
Sincerely,
Brenna Graham
Amnesty International
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