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Lashes for Saudi woman driver
Source: Agencies |
September 28, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A SAUDI court has sentenced a woman to 10 lashes for challenging a ban on women driving in the Muslim kingdom, Amnesty International said yesterday.
The sentence was reported two days after Saudi King Abdullah granted women the right to vote and run in municipal elections. He also promised to include them in the next all-appointed consultative Shura Council in 2013.
"Flogging is a cruel punishment in all circumstances but it beggars belief that the authorities in Saudi Arabia have imposed lashes on a woman apparently for merely driving a car," Philip Luther, an Amnesty regional deputy director, said in an emailed statement.
Two other women are also believed to be facing charges related to driving, the Amnesty statement said.
Under Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic laws, women require a male guardian's permission to work, travel abroad or even undergo some medical surgeries. They are not allowed to drive.
While there is no written law banning women from driving, Saudi law requires citizens to use locally issued licences while in the country. Such licences are not issued to women, making it effectively illegal for them to drive.
In May, as pro-democracy protests swept across the region, some women in Saudi Arabia called for their right to drive. A campaign called Women2Drive issued calls on social media such as Twitter and Facebook to challenge the ban.
The sentence was reported two days after Saudi King Abdullah granted women the right to vote and run in municipal elections. He also promised to include them in the next all-appointed consultative Shura Council in 2013.
"Flogging is a cruel punishment in all circumstances but it beggars belief that the authorities in Saudi Arabia have imposed lashes on a woman apparently for merely driving a car," Philip Luther, an Amnesty regional deputy director, said in an emailed statement.
Two other women are also believed to be facing charges related to driving, the Amnesty statement said.
Under Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic laws, women require a male guardian's permission to work, travel abroad or even undergo some medical surgeries. They are not allowed to drive.
While there is no written law banning women from driving, Saudi law requires citizens to use locally issued licences while in the country. Such licences are not issued to women, making it effectively illegal for them to drive.
In May, as pro-democracy protests swept across the region, some women in Saudi Arabia called for their right to drive. A campaign called Women2Drive issued calls on social media such as Twitter and Facebook to challenge the ban.
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