John Burgess sees evidence that “the logjam that prevents Saudi women from driving” may be about to break. He notes that the Saudi Gazette has passed along without comment a Reuters story that paves the way.
A top Saudi cleric challenged a ban on women driving Tuesday, saying women should be allowed more social participation in the Kingdom. “Clerics have studied the issue and no one has come up with a (Holy Qur’an) verse that would forbid female driving,” said Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, head of Makkah region’s Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai’a). “I do not consider it to be forbidden,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a women’s empowerment event here.
Either the rules will change or Al-Ghamdi will cease to be heard from, I’d guess.
