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Women's rights in Saudi lag way behind other Gulf nations
DUBAI — Two years after Wajiha al-Huwaidar defied a Saudi ban on women driving by posting a video on the Internet showing her cruising in a remote area, she still dreams…
DUBAI — Two years after Wajiha al-Huwaidar defied a Saudi ban on women driving by posting a video on the Internet showing her cruising in a remote area, she still dreams of getting behind the wheel like her other Gulf sisters.Huwaidar's brazen act on International Women's Day 2008 was a symbolic gesture in the ultra-conservative kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where women's rights lag way behind those in other nations in the oil-rich Gulf."I'm still dreaming of driving," the women's rights activist -- whose 2008 You Tube video registered some 190,000 hits -- told AFP in a telephone interview.Unlike other Arab Gulf women, Saudi women still face an uphill struggle to gain political and social rights and need the consent of male guardians for almost everything, including obtaining a passport and travel.They are also forced to cover up from head to toe when in public, and due to strict segregation rules their work opportunities are severely restricted.Huwaidar is confident however that women will get into the driver's seat."Driving is going to happen during King Abdullah's time. Maybe this year," she said, adding that the 85-year-old monarch "wants to make history."The reign of the reform-minded Abdullah has produced many changes since he ascended the throne in 2005 -- including last year's unprecedented nomination of a woman, Norah al-Fayez, to a ministerial post.He also inaugurated in September the kingdom's first mixed-gender university, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), in a move that infuriated radical Islamists.The role of Saudi women was celebrated again in January when King Abdullah gave doctor Khawlah al-Kurai a top medal in recognition of her research work to fight cancer."There has been a clear and strong political drive aiming to allow mixing between genders... which would open many doors to women," said female lecturer at King Saud University, Hatoon al-Fassi.But Fassi noted that because of the strict rules of segregation at the university, men and women academics cannot me
last modification 2010-03-08 01:45:10
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