The King of Saudi Arabia, King Salman just gave a decree allowing women to drive. The news was met with joy, relief and tears and made Breaking News in many international TV channels. Women Rights activist groups have been lobbying for Saudi women to be allowed to drive for over 20 years, with some women activists being arrested and jailed for attempting to drive in Saudi Arabia.

The government's argument is that allowing women to drive will allow women to travel without male consent which is against the law, but the fact is, Saudi Arabia public transport system is greatly under developed.Top cleric Saad al-Hijri angered many when he made a public statement that women should not be allowed to drive because their brains shrink to a quarter the size of a man's when they go shopping.

Wow! Talking about male consent, consent is given to a woman by a close male relative - husband, father, brother even son!! So basically, your teenage son's judgement is more trusted than yours,his mother. Let that sink in.

It might have never crossed your mind, but things we do daily are actually not allowed in Saudi Arabia.

1. Women in Saudi Arabia need male permission to travel, marry, get employment, get access to health care, sign contracts, get divorced, basically, nearly all major life changing decisions.

2. Women are not allowed to show their beauty, this includes doing excessive make up, to control this, all women have to wear abayas. Biggest issue here is that the Religious Police decide what is considered excessive so it's really up to their discretion to apply whatever seems is necessary force, which is of course not always fair.

3. Women can't read fashion magazines.

4. Women can't have custody of their children, husbands have full custody.

5. Women are not allowed to participate in sports, this changed in the 2012 olympics when the country sent 2 female athletes. Of course they were accompanied by a male guardian and there were Saudi men on social media calling them prostitutes for exposing themselves for the world to see.

6. Women can't have male friends, this includes work mates and school mates. Having a friendship with a guy could lead to criminal charges and more often than not, the women receive harsher punishments than the men.

This is definitely a win for Saudi Arabian women and we hope they can one day have the freedom of choice as a right and not a privilege. We utterly respect diverse cultures but also agree with Nelson Mandela, "For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."


source: https://kwesefied.kwese.com/article/normal-everyday-things-you-can-do-saudi-women-cant

Oppression in any form is a terrible thing...
I can't even imagine.....