Editorial: A driving distraction to the lack of human rights for Saudi women

On Sunday, dozens of joyous women climbed into the driver’s seats of their luxury vehicles, fired up their engines and drove through the streets of the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. It must have felt extraordinary after being barred for so long from engaging in an activity taken for granted by most women in the developed world.

These Saudi women were among the first to be issued driving licenses after the decades-long ban was lifted. The change is among a series of social and economic reforms pushed by young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to transform the monarchy into what he describes as a “normal country.” Some of those changes would improve the condition of women, including giving them permission to attend sporting events, and offering more opportunities for them to participate in sports. The crown prince’s Vision 2030 plan also seeks to expand the role of working women until they are one-third of the workforce.

Sunday’s milestone was celebrated by Saudi women and men alike. One woman said, “I feel free like a bird.” Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal tweeted a video of his daughter driving shortly after midnight on Sunday, claiming that she was the first woman to take a legal turn behind the wheel. “The woman now has … taken her freedom,” he enthused.

Freedom? Not exactly.

Certainly this is an important milestone for one of the most repressive regimes in the world, one in which women have been long considered to be little more than the property of men, denied fundamental rights and, among other things, subjected to a strict public dress code. But the right to drive should not be confused with real reform that allows women to be the architects of their own destiny. Sorry to rain on the parade, but it’s hard to view this small step as much more than a shiny bauble to distract from the real obstacle to reform, the so-called guardianship law.

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Under that law, all Saudi women, regardless of age, are under the authority of a male relative for their entire lives. A woman can’t leave the country, attend college, open a bank account or get married without permission of the husband, father, uncle, brother or son upon whom she is dependent. In that context, the right to drive — or the right to vote and hold office that was granted in recent years — are at best only incremental advances. They’re privileges that don’t change the fact that a woman’s guardian has the ultimate control of her life and body. That’s not true freedom, just a longer leash.

Saudi officials say that women won’t need to get permission from their guardians to be issued a driving license or to take a drive. That’s an empty assurance in a society where men have so much control over women. In Saudi Arabia’s legal system, for instance, a woman’s testimony is considered only 50% as trustworthy as a man’s.

Another sour note to the lifting of the driving ban is the crackdown on women’s rights activists, including those whose protests helped bring about the change. Since May, about a dozen activists have been arrested, and about nine now remain in jail awaiting charges. Of most concern were the arrests of two women — Nouf Abdelaziz and Mayaa al Zahrani — arrested simply for expressing solidarity with those arrested earlier, according to Human Rights Watch.

Until Saudi Arabia ditches the oppressive guardianship system, women will not be truly free in Saudi Arabia.

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