INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
In spite of the driving ban end, it will be tough for many Saudi women to transcend ingrained traditions.
Saudi Arabia's monarch may have opened the door for Saudi women like Shahd
to start driving, but she still needs to sneak out of the house to take lessons.The 26-year-old business student knows she's in for a
battle to convince her parents because in their community, some would find it shameful to see a woman behind the wheel
Once she gets a licence, she'll stow it in a drawer until she musters up the courage to ask."I'll have to be accommodating to the whole
"I don't think it's right to force something upon them.Even as the kingdom ends the legal ban on Sunday, Shahd's conundrum shows how
daunting it will be for many Saudi women to suddenly transcend ingrained traditions that have limited their freedom during decades of
Guardianship laws bar them from traveling or getting married without approval of a male relative, usually a father or husband but
occasionally even a son.Saudi families are torn between embracing or resisting changes that clerics and government officials had spent years
portraying as sinful.Change has come abruptly since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman charted out plans to wean Saudi Arabia off oil two
years ago, which will be tough to do if half its population is disempowered
Yet at the same time as expanding women's rights and social freedoms, he's jailed women who campaigned to drive for years and come down
hard on opponents to his reform agenda.Saudi families are torn between embracing or resisting changes that clerics and government officials
had spent years portraying as sinful
Some are concerned that their rulers are pandering to the West in a way that violates their traditions and religion."Our problem now is
shame and customs, not Islamic law"In itself, the fact of women driving is likely to become normalized relatively quickly," said Graham
Griffiths, a senior analyst at global risk consultancy Control Risks in Dubai
"However, as part of a broader revolution in gender roles in Saudi society, this will have longer-term implications for society, which could
still cause considerable social upheaval by creating deep divisions."Prince Mohammed has opened cinemas, loosened gender segregation, curbed
the powers of the religious police and allowed music to be played in public, overturning longstanding restrictions rooted in a rigid
adapt.The culture shock is less pronounced in cosmopolitan centers like Riyadh or Jeddah because it wasn't uncommon for parents to be
comparatively flexible with their daughters, at least in more wealthy households
Many even got licences while studying or vacationing abroad and have swapped them for Saudi ones, proudly splashed in selfies across social
media.It's a bigger adjustment in outlying regions like Qassim, nicknamed Saudi Arabia's Texas by some for its conservatism and the
prevalence of Salafi clerics
The province, whose biggest city is Buraidah, has established a driving school for women, but it's not open yet.Women interviewed by
Bloomberg were conflicted, eager to drive but also wanting to respect that their cultures will take time to adapt
Two said they'd been adventure driving in the desert for years beyond the public gaze.Others said their parents worry letting them drive
will tarnish their reputation with neighbors
For traditional Saudi families, providing for women, including chaperoning them around, is regarded as a way of bestowing honor on
them."Driving is one way of moving women of this country to the future""Our problem now is shame and customs, not Islamic law," said
43-year-old Asma Al-Musleh, who shared a commonly cited story about a wife of the Prophet Muhammad riding a camel in the seventh century
As she sat beneath palm trees at a local park in the town of Unaizah, a group of young girls were, quite aptly, driving back and forth in
mini toy cars.Al-Musleh is too scared to get behind the wheel herself, but her 18-year-old daughter Reef-who grew up in the Internet age-has
She'll wait until "after things quiet down and people become convinced."Acclimatizing will happen more quickly in liberal pockets like
Dhahran, an eastern coastal enclave that's long been exposed to foreigners and heavily shaped by the American origins of Aramco, which is
Aramco opened a center with 50 trainers to teach female staff and dependents how to drive using simulation technology, as well as other
skills like changing tires."My friends and family are excited," said 30-year-old Fatimah Al-Namlah
"Driving is one way of moving women of this country to the future."Nada Al Aswad, 37, is already considering what car to buy
"Driving is important for every woman who seeks independence," she said.In Buraidah, transformation rests on women like Shahd finding the
courage to challenge the only reality they've known
They'll have some help: A handful of Saudi women clad head-to-toe in black were at the local traffic department one recent morning swapping
licences from Arab countries like Bahrain, Jordan or Egypt.After passing a short driving test, Aljohara Alwabli, a 54-year-old retiree,
thrust her arms into the air in the parking lot to celebrate
"Driving is a human right," she said from behind her face covering and thick-rimmed and bejewelled sunglasses.Shahd, who's never traveled
abroad, isn't allowed to take Ubers or taxis alone so her brother gives her a lift everywhere-including to the driving lessons she plans to
She once turned down a job offer an hour from home to avoid disrupting the family's drop-off and pick-up schedule.While she works up the
nerve to face her parents, Shahd is certain of one thing: her community will, eventually, have to adjust."I hear people sometimes saying
this is a cosmetic change, or symbolic-it's not," she said
"It has to change the dynamic within families, within households, within public life in general."(This story has not been edited by
TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)