DUBAI, united arab emirates — It’s been two years since the last time women in Saudi Arabia campaigned for the right to drive. Now activists are calling for women to get behind the wheel again Saturday, and they hope reforms made by the monarchy since then have readied the deeply conservative nation for change.
The reforms made by King Abdullah in recent years have been cautious, showing his wariness of pushing too hard against influential ultraconservatives. But given the overwhelming restrictions on women in the kingdom, even the tiny openings have had a resounding effect.
Perhaps one sign of the impact of the changes is the loudness of the backlash against Saturday’s driving campaign.
About 150 clerics rallied outside one of the king’s palaces this week, some accusing Abdullah’s top ally the United States of being behind calls to let women drive. A prominent cleric caused a stir when he said last month that medical studies show that driving a car harms a woman’s ovaries.
The Interior Ministry has warned against “disturbing public peace.” Hatoon al-Fassi, a Women’s History professor at King Saud University in Riyadh, pointed out that women have made clear they aren’t holding gatherings Saturday. Women will simply drive in a show of defiance of the ban, perhaps on the pretext of running errands.
