Saudi woman re-arrested after driving ban protest

Manal al-Sherif, who filmed herself at the wheel to highlight restrictions against female drivers, is remanded in custody Saudi authorities have re-arrested an activist who defied a ban on female drivers in the conservative kingdom. Manal al-Sherif was accused of “violating public order” and remanded in custody for five days while the case is investigated, a security official said. Sherif launched a campaign against the ban last week by posting a video on the internet of herself behind the wheel in the eastern city of Khobar. A Facebook page called “Teach me how to drive so I can protect myself” urged all Saudi women to drive on 17 June, and drew 12,000 supporters before it was removed. The campaign’s Twitter account also was deactivated. Sherif was detained for hours on Saturday by the country’s religious police and released after she signed a pledge agreeing not to drive. A security official said Sherif was re-arrested on Sunday at dawn. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. The Khobar prison chief Ayoub ben Nahit was quoted in al-Watan newspaper as saying Sherif faced accusations of “violating the rules and the system by driving her car, roaming the streets of the province”. He also accused her of “inciting public opinion” by posting the video. Sherif is an IT expert at the state-run oil firm Saudi Aramco. Her brother, Mohammed al-Sherif, who was in the car with her, also was detained on Sunday. Hundreds of activists set up Facebook groups calling for Sherif’s release and an end to the ban on women driving. “Let Manal al-Sherif and all other women drive their own cars, take their kids to the hospital, buy their stuff from the supermarket, go to work without a driver,” columnist Khalf al-Harbi wrote in al-Watan. Activist Walid Abou el-Kheir posted on his Twitter account a petition signed by 300 Saudi activists appealing to the Saudi king to free Sherif and make a clear commitment to ending the driving ban. Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women – both Saudi and foreign –from driving. The prohibition forces families to hire live-in drivers, and those who cannot afford between $300 and $400 a month for a driver must rely on male relatives to drive them to work, school, the shops or the doctor. Women are also barred from voting, except for chamber of commerce elections in two cities in recent years, and no woman can sit in the kingdom’s cabinet. Women also cannot travel without permission from a male guardian or mingle with males who are not their husbands or brothers. The hardline cleric Abdel Rahman al-Barak said in a fatwa, or religious edict, on his website that women who violate the driving ban are “plain sinful and are opening (the doors) of evil”. There is no written Saudi law banning women from driving, only fatwas by senior clerics that are enforced by police. No major Islamic clerics outside the country call for such a ban. Hardline clerics like Barak believe that women at the wheel create situations for sinful temptation. They argue that female drivers would be free to leave home alone and interact with male strangers, such as traffic police and mechanics. Saudi Arabia Women Gender Road transport Middle East guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 23, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.