Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Politics

Driving As a Subversive Activity

Jesse Walker | 6.17.2011 11:23 AM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Today's Arab Spring news:

Women in Saudi Arabia have been openly driving cars in defiance of an official ban on female drivers in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

The direct action has been organised on social network sites, where women have been posting images and videos of themselves behind the wheel.

The Women2Drive Facebook page said the direct action would continue until a royal decree reversed the ban.

Last month, a woman was arrested after uploading a video of herself driving.

Manal al-Sherif was accused of "besmirching the kingdom's reputation abroad and stirring up public opinion", but was released after 10 days having promised not to drive again.

Campaigners have not called for a mass protest - which would be illegal - but have asked women who have foreign driving licences to drive themselves as they go about their daily life.

"All that we need is to run our errands without depending on drivers," said one woman in the first film posted in the early hours of Friday morning.

If you're on Twitter, you can track the protest with the #women2drive hashtag. Reports of police stopping the drivers are starting to filter in.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: A Suicide Pact

Jesse Walker is books editor at Reason and the author of Rebels on the Air and The United States of Paranoia.

PoliticsPolicyNanny StateWorldFeminismAutomobilesTransportation PolicySaudi ArabiaCivil Disobedience
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Hide Comments (76)

Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.

  1. Joshua Corning   14 years ago

    besmirching the kingdom's reputation abroad and stirring up public opinion

    LOL

  2. Almanian   14 years ago

    Well DUH. You let 'em drive, next thing they're gonna wanna VOTE.
    How's that workin' out here in the good ole US of A?

    *taps foot as crickets chirp*

    Yeah, exactly...

    You go, oppressive Saudi douchebags!

    1. republican male   14 years ago

      Allowing women to vote is what gets Democrats elected.

      1. Barack Obama   14 years ago

        Let me be clear - exactly.

        1. Bill Clinton   14 years ago

          He he he... Yup!

          1. Ghost of JFK   14 years ago

            Ahem

            1. Dan Quayle   14 years ago

              Apparentley, it sometimes workes for Republicanes too. If they're cute like me.

      2. the real oo   14 years ago

        more precisely, the anti-choice policy of the gop is why women elect dems.

        1. Kreel Sarloo   14 years ago

          Even more precisely, that and all the anti-choice policies on just about everything else of the Democratic Party.

          Teh wymyns care more and are prepared to have everyone who doesn't care enough locked in a cage.

          Actually, they don't ever actually consider the violence involved in enforcing all the mandates. Its just that they're always thinking about...ABOUT TEH CHILDRUNZ.

        2. republican male   14 years ago

          More precisely, the fact that women (and progressive males) are more inclined to make decisions based upon emotion than on rational thought, is why women (and progressive males) vote for men who stir their emotions instead of the individual who will do a better job.

          1. Kristen   14 years ago

            Interestingly, all of my male friends - all of them - base their vote son emtion. Both them Dems & Repubs. The Repubs among them allow themselves to get all riled up by Glen Beck, and the Dems allow themselves to get all riled up by Jon Stewart.

            1. republican male   14 years ago

              Maybe you should ditch being a fag hag.

              1. rather   14 years ago

                So you want Kristen to become a fag-hag for a self-hating closeted republican instead?

        3. Kreel Sarloo   14 years ago

          Women were predominantly voting Democrat long before abortion was an issue in American politics. Until about 1970 every politico believed abortion should be banned no matter which party they were in.

          Just as they all believed that homosexuallity was unnatural and a mental disorder.

  3. Lord Humungus   14 years ago

    I have never seen any evidence that women know how to drive.

    *ducks rotten fruit*

    1. Pope Jimbo   14 years ago

      Women drivers, no survivors.

      1. Almanian   14 years ago

        Hiyo!!

    2. reason readin female   14 years ago

      Interesting. My experience has been that the crappiest, most passive aggressive drivers tend to be middle aged men.
      They're the ones generally parked in the left lane going about 58mph, but speed up to block you from passing on the right.
      Anecdotal and probably meaningless, but that's the reality on I5 in the Seattle area.

      P.S.
      I know you were just joking, I'm just giving you the opportunity to chuck that moldy pear my way!

  4. guy in the back row   14 years ago

    Yo, that chica's hot! Is it lobster girl?

    1. Otto   14 years ago

      If so, she's in real trouble. Lobsters aren't halal.

      1. Fartriloquist   14 years ago

        What, we're going to eat her?

        1. Cunning Linguist   14 years ago

          Why yes, yes we are.

          1. Fartriloquist   14 years ago

            Me first, then.

  5. Joshua Corning   14 years ago

    Thanks to the burqa, no Guy Fawkes mask is necessary.

    I just noticed how similar burqas are to ninja outfits

    1. Tonio   14 years ago

      Form follows function.

    2. rather   14 years ago

      We can play a ninja-Buqua game 😉

  6. hazeeran   14 years ago

    It should technically be "Ash-Sherif" because the definite article elides with the "sh" sound.

  7. Sinic   14 years ago

    As a libertarian I hate the idea of not letting women drive. But as a man...it's brilliant!

  8. JW   14 years ago

    I work next to the Saudi embassy in DC and I see Saudi women driving constantly. All things considered, they're not all that bad drivers either.

    I'll say this much for Saudis, they're punctual as hell. 5 PM every day, they are pouring into the parking garage in droves.

    1. emmajane   14 years ago

      Are the women in the Saudi embassy wearing burqas?

      1. JW   14 years ago

        Almost none. Most wear a variation of western garb; some of them are very, very nice on the eyes.

        You do see the occassional full-on niq?b (the burqa below the neck, the niq?b covering the head, with the eye-slit). No matter how many times I see it, it still looks medieval. Esspecially medieval when she's next to her husband in his shorts and flip-flops, smoking like a Victorian chimney.

        And if you think that American women never shut up, don't get in an elevator with 6 Saudi women. They all talk At. The. Same. Time. It's the proverbial hen-house.

        1. JW   14 years ago

          *He* is smoking like a chimney, not the wife....

        2. Timon19   14 years ago

          I have thankfully been spared from large collections of BMOs in an elevator. I've encountered the polar opposite: single niqab-wearers riding the lift with or without their kids. They regard Western white guys with extreme suspicion (easy to see in the eyes and demeanor) when they're not with male relatives.

          1. JW   14 years ago

            BMOs?

            I've encountered that as well, but IME it's rare that one travels unaccompanied.

            The men are completely western in dress. The younger ones in trendier clothes, particularly jeans, of course. There was some sort of clearing house in my building, as they would bring 20-something Saudi men into the building by the van-loads most days.

            During Ramadan, you'll see the older men in the traditional thawb, wearing the ghutra on their heads. Once, I saw a guy adjusting his ghutra in the reflection of his 7-Series beemer. I had to chuckle.

            1. Timon19   14 years ago

              Well, this is in the UAE, and only very briefly in a hotel elevator. I must clarify, however, that if THEY'RE waiting to get on and it's just unrelated males in the lift already, >75% of the time, they'll step forward, realize they're going to be around strange males, then back away in a combination of horror and polite deference so they can wait for the next car.

              If the BMOs are already on the lift and you're waiting to get on, you get the silent "OMFG RAPIST!!!!!" behavior.

              1. rather   14 years ago

                like this?

                http://rctlfy.wordpress.com/20.....londes-do/

  9. Zuo   14 years ago

    I bet KSA is one of the most pleasurable places to drive on earth. And I support Saudi efforts to keep it that way.

    1. Timon19   14 years ago

      No. Not even close.

  10. Tim   14 years ago

    Sharif he don't like it...

    1. Irresponsible Hater   14 years ago

      http://images.cheezburger.com/.....38d5f0.jpg

  11. SugarFree   14 years ago

    It's like I stumbled into an alternate universe of shitty early 90s stand-up.

    What's the deal with airline food? I mean, really!

    1. Sinic   14 years ago

      Mmmmm...Delta cookies.

    2. Fist of Etiquette   14 years ago

      This is a libertarian blog. There are no women here to offend. You won't be getting any tail as a result of your little attack on your fellow commenters, if that's your game.

      1. SugarFree   14 years ago

        The women already adore me; I was merely commenting on the level of humor.

        1. Troy   14 years ago

          until you run out of money......

        2. Fist of Etiquette   14 years ago

          The ladies do love a project. Especially one who can't eat their chocolate ice cream.

    3. Kristen   14 years ago

      I do SF just for pointing out the obvious passe humor.

      .....Take my wife - please!....

  12. sarcasmic   14 years ago

    What if all that headgear slips and then they can't see?

  13. MNG   14 years ago

    "an official ban on female drivers"

    Let's all remember that this is an official ally of the United States. Disgusting.

    1. WTF   14 years ago

      "an official ban on female drivers"

      Let's all remember that this is an official ally of the United States. Disgusting.

      I fail to see the problem.

    2. KDN   14 years ago

      Well, we do have a longstanding tradition of keeping allies opposed to our ideals. Why mess with what's worked for 230 years over a silly concept like women drivers?

      Besides, we gotta keep that oil coming in from somewhere since national NIMBY concerns prevent us from using our own.

      1. Appalachian Australian   14 years ago

        Actually, the biggest constraint on U.S. oil production in Texas right now is a lack of pipeline capacity to ship all the oil being pumped to refineries. EOG Resources, Inc. is shipping oil on railcars and even in trucks. This commerce just happens to be going on in and around Ron Paul's home district...

        Saudi Arabia is obsolete in a world of $100/bbl oil.

    3. X   14 years ago

      it's for the children

    4. sage   14 years ago

      What, you didn't want to bring abortion into this discussion too?

    5. Joshua Corning   14 years ago

      Let's all remember that this is an official ally of the United States. Disgusting.

      France is an ally and they outlawed Muslim dress.

      That is why I love America I can drive my car after a sex change while on a cell phone drinking a beer with a loaded gun sitting on the passenger seat....

      oh wait.

  14. Tim   14 years ago

    Picture one of those ridiculous police chase videos shot from a news copter as the car crashes and this burqa clad figure bales out and starts running through backyards.

    1. Tim   14 years ago

      'Strike oh servant of Allah! The Whore has concealed herself under the kiddie pool.'

      1. Lord Humungus   14 years ago

        +1 for teh lolz

    2. sage   14 years ago

      Very nice. Thank you.

  15. Appalachian Australian   14 years ago

    The regimes being overthrown in the Middle East/North Africa (Syria, Libya, Egypt) were generally more in favour of women's rights than the authoritarian religious fundamentalists replacing them.

    Assad's rule in Syria has been centered around religious pluralism. I expect whomever replaces it be composed of the religious majority, which is more fundamentalist and authoritarian in nature.

    1. Timon19   14 years ago

      So the Egyptian military is a religious fundy organization?

    2. Joshua Corning   14 years ago

      Religious freedom has a documented mellowing effect.

      Keeping Muslims under tyranny is only going to make them more radicalized.

  16. Troy   14 years ago

    To all men of Saudia Arabia:

    I think you are the biggest pile of pussbags in the world. Oh, and my daughter thinks those goatees and stupid fucking sheets you wear make you all look gay.

    1. Appalachian Australian   14 years ago

      A Saudi guy once told me how inconvenient the ban is because you end up having to drive your female relatives around all the time if your family isn't rich enough to afford a chauffeur.

      1. DJF   14 years ago

        A proper religion would require woman to drive so that the men could be chauffeured around in style.

        1. Pip   14 years ago

          YES!

          http://ih2.redbubble.net/work......uffeur.jpg

          http://images.villageorigin.co......jpg?s=170

      2. BG   14 years ago

        A Saudi guy once told me how inconvenient the ban is because you end up having to drive your female relatives around all the time if your family isn't rich enough to afford a chauffeur.

        I would have recommended she pack her things so I can drive one final place: to the border so she can leave that backwards country and seek asylum in a country that doesn't have so much theocratic bullshit restrictions on freedom (i.e. almost anywhere else).

  17. xenia onatopp   14 years ago

    To take all the fun out of things, I've got to get serious here for a second: this is genius, and about fucking time. It's always encouraging to see people realize that nobody's going to give them their freedom, so it's up to them to take it.

    And make no mistake about it, driving is freedom, which is why taking away an elderly relative's car keys is such an emotionally wrenching experience for everyone involved. While I continue on my brazen 15 year run of driving without a license, my father has had to start keeping the car keys hidden from my mother; that was the action that drove home the reality of her Alzheimers.

    My lefty friends hate my celebration of aimless driving around and my embrace of the stereotype of the American idiot in love with my car and the open road, but they can kiss my ass. With one exception they drive, too, they just have to act like they hate it.

    1. Appalachian Australian   14 years ago

      This is why "progressives" are always trying to herd us into railcars, buses, or just make us walk everywhere like North Korea:

      http://www.1stopkorea.com/inde.....~mainframe

    2. JW   14 years ago

      they just have to act like they hate it.

      Come to DC. You'll hate it too.

      1. xenia onatopp   14 years ago

        Eh. My formative driving years were in Boston, and I drove cabs and Town Cars for a living in the Boston area for years, so I have a pretty Zen outlook on the whole enterprise. It's cheaper than automatic weapons.

  18. Appalachian Australian   14 years ago

    Progressives have some weird instinctual drive to push everyone into railcars, buses, or just make them walk everywhere like in North Korea:

    http://goo.gl/2XDMw

  19. Zeb   14 years ago

    You know who else are bad drivers? Everyone except me.

  20. Robert   14 years ago

    Mother was the better driver in other respects, but Daddy could park like nobody's business. He could squeeze a Cadillac into spaces you wouldn't think you could fit a compact.

  21. rather   14 years ago

    http://rctlfy.wordpress.com/20.....male-body/

    My post on woman in SA

  22. Brian Sorgatz   14 years ago

    Say, isn't it also illegal for the women of the kingdom to sing and dance in sexy underwear like Francine Smith in American Dad? I'm just saying.

Please log in to post comments

Mute this user?

  • Mute User
  • Cancel

Ban this user?

  • Ban User
  • Cancel

Un-ban this user?

  • Un-ban User
  • Cancel

Nuke this user?

  • Nuke User
  • Cancel

Un-nuke this user?

  • Un-nuke User
  • Cancel

Flag this comment?

  • Flag Comment
  • Cancel

Un-flag this comment?

  • Un-flag Comment
  • Cancel

Latest

Republican Holdouts

Liz Wolfe | 7.2.2025 9:30 AM

Americans Celebrate Independence Day Less Proud of Their Country Than Ever

J.D. Tuccille | 7.2.2025 7:00 AM

Brickbat: Take a Bite out of Crime

Charles Oliver | 7.2.2025 4:00 AM

Trump's 'Giant Win' Does Not Validate His Unconstitutional Birthright Citizenship Order

Jacob Sullum | 7.2.2025 12:01 AM

Trump Says the Courts Have No Business Questioning His Dubious Definition of 'Alien Enemies'

Jacob Sullum | 7.1.2025 5:40 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2024 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

r

Do you care about free minds and free markets? Sign up to get the biggest stories from Reason in your inbox every afternoon.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This modal will close in 10

Reason Plus

Special Offer!

  • Full digital edition access
  • No ads
  • Commenting privileges

Just $25 per year

Join Today!