A woman has been sentenced to 150 lashes and eight months behind bars in Saudi Arabia on charges of driving, a report says.
The woman was handed down the sentence this week after she resisted arrest by Saudi police forces, who stopped her for driving, DPA reported on Friday.
There is no specific law to prevent women from driving in the kingdom, however, women simply cannot apply for driving licenses and some have been arrested for driving.
Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are prohibited from driving. The medieval ban is a religious fatwa imposed by the country’s Wahhabi clerics. If women get behind the wheel in the kingdom, they may be arrested, sent to court and even flogged.
Supporters of the ban say allowing women to drive will threaten public morality and encourage them to mix freely in public.
In 2011, dozens of women took part in a campaign, dubbed Women2Drive, challenging the ban. They posted on internet social networks pictures and videos of themselves while driving.
In 1991, authorities stopped 47 women who got behind the wheel in a demonstration against the driving ban. After being arrested, many were further punished by being banned from travel and suspended from their workplaces.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Saudi woman gets 150 lashes for driving: Report
A woman has been sentenced to 150 lashes and eight months behind bars in Saudi Arabia on charges of driving, a report says.
The woman was handed down the sentence this week after she resisted arrest by Saudi police forces, who stopped her for driving, DPA reported on Friday.
There is no specific law to prevent women from driving in the kingdom, however, women simply cannot apply for driving licenses and some have been arrested for driving.
Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are prohibited from driving. The medieval ban is a religious fatwa imposed by the country’s Wahhabi clerics. If women get behind the wheel in the kingdom, they may be arrested, sent to court and even flogged.
Supporters of the ban say allowing women to drive will threaten public morality and encourage them to mix freely in public.
In 2011, dozens of women took part in a campaign, dubbed Women2Drive, challenging the ban. They posted on internet social networks pictures and videos of themselves while driving.
In 1991, authorities stopped 47 women who got behind the wheel in a demonstration against the driving ban. After being arrested, many were further punished by being banned from travel and suspended from their workplaces.
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