Medical emergency or not, if you’re a woman and you try to drive in Saudi Arabia, you will get arrested and charged with… driving.
A 35-year-old woman who was arrested in Jeddah earlier this month, reportedly told police she was suffering from a hemorrhage and chose to get behind the wheel because she didn’t have a personal driver to take her to the hospital. Public transportation, she added, was scarce.
Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women from driving. And it’s not written into the law, but religious edicts enforced by police keep women from driving.
In June, a campaign by the Women2Drive movement – called on women to take a stand and get behind the wheel.
Five women were reportedly arrested.
Earlier this month, representatives from ‘Saudi Women for Driving,’ an activist group, said they received a letter of support from top European Union diplomat Catherin Ashton calling on the kingdom to implement the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Ashton first issued a public statement of support via a representative in June, after more than 7,000 people signed a petition on online activism platform Change.org.
Follow the #Women2Drive hashtag on Twitter and posting YouTube videos to document their experiences.
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