The Saudi Arabian government has detained a women’s rights activist while defying the driving ban in the kingdom.
The kingdom’s security forces arrested leading campaigner Aziza al-Yousef while driving a car through the capital Riyadh along with her fellow activist Eman al-Nafjan on Friday.

The two were taken to a police station, where they were asked to sign a pledge promising they will not drive again, but they refused to do so, Nafjan said in a twitter post.

She also said if authorities asked for her male guardian she would say that she is her own guardian. However, her guardian -- known as a Mahram -- was called regardless of her will.

Earlier in the day, Nafjan posted pictures showing the two activists filling up at a gas station, expressing satisfaction that their drive was treated as an everyday occurrence.

The Saudi Interior Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that it is illegal to call for "banned gatherings and marches" to encourage women to drive.

"The Interior Ministry confirms to all that the concerned authorities will enforce the law against all the violators with firmness and force," the ministry said.

There is no specific law to prevent women from driving in the kingdom, however, women simply cannot apply for driving licenses and some have been arrested for driving.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are prohibited from driving. The medieval ban is a religious fatwa imposed by the country’s Wahhabi clerics. If women get behind the wheel in the kingdom, they may be arrested, sent to court and even flogged.

Supporters of the ban say allowing women to drive will threaten public morality and encourage them to mix freely in public.

In 2011, dozens of women took part in a similar campaign, dubbed Women2Drive, challenging the ban. They posted on internet social networks pictures and videos of themselves while driving.

In 1991, authorities stopped 47 women who got behind the wheel in a demonstration against the driving ban. After being arrested, many were further punished by being banned from travel and suspended from their workplaces.

By Press TV

 

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