Women Who Celebrate the Freedom to Drive
'Everything is an adventure now': Saudi women celebrate new driving freedoms as ban is lifted
Summary: This article talks about how Saudi Arabia abolished its ban on women driving and gives examples of how some women enjoyed their first time as the driver. These women have such little power in their community because it is runned by a whole male system that the pleasure of driving is such a big step into the right direction of better equality. These women have been frustrated because they would always have to rely on either a father or a brother to drive them places, even though they are fully capable of taking themselves. Abolishing this rule gives these women freedom that they haven’t had before and many of them are excited for this new step. Yet, many of them will not be able to drive for a while due to long waits in gender-segregated lessons and high cost for classes. Some may not be able to enjoy the right of driving due to male members in their home that remain conservative. My reaction to this article is that I am proud of the women in Saudi Arabia for continuing to fight for women’s rights.
Connection to History: I can connect this article to when women gaining the right to vote in the US in 1920. At the time women too did not have high power in the public view nor; did they have any freedom or responsibility to make choices for themselves. Yet, one major difference is time, the US has gain more equality sooner then Saudi Arabia due to both the background history of each country.
Questions for discussion:
- Why did it take so long for women to gain more freedom ?
- What do you think the next step to get closer to equality is for Saudi Arabia ?
It is such a strange thing to have to celebrate that women can drive. It has been the norm here for years - or forever. Does this tell us anything about their role in society, and do you think the US should apply political pressure and push for women's rights?
ReplyDeleteI believe it took women in Saudi Arabia this long to gain this right because the world works in a system that puts males at the top. While I believe most people are lacking in one right or another, women are usually last to gain freedom and rights, and usually have work harder to get them. It's sad to me that we are celebrating things like women getting the right to drive themselves or here in the US, women running for presidency, because in my mind these things should be the norm - not a first - especially not in 2019.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with what Camila has said, since the beginning women were said to be created more delicately and men were built stronger to take care of their families, and I guess people have taken the extreme into sort of degrading and control women and it has became a natural thing to do around the world especially in countries where old time is ruling, amybe that is why they took long to lift the ban
DeleteI think its amazing that many places around the world are finally giving rights to women. And its crazy that this is still a prevalent issue in society and something that we still need to fight for
ReplyDeleteI agree, it's crazy how their are so many problems in other parts of the world, that make our problems look so small. If 3rd world countries knew the problems of first world countries; they probably would be laughing.
Deleteit took this long because he wait is worth it. Being patient can grant wonderful things. The women deserve freedom and equality. Women would fight for anything and that is why it is worth fighting and waiting for.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason why it too women in Saudi Arabia so long to gain this right because in those countries, males are worshipped and therefore they are superior to everyone else. They usually make all the womens decisions which could be a reason why it took them so long to gain this right. All people were created equal and Saudi Arabia is slowly learning to apply that to their own country.
ReplyDeleteI hope that women's rights to drive in Saudi Arabia is only the beginning of their march for equality. I think it took so long for these women to get their rights because the men in the communities feared or disagreed with change. I believe it has taken way too long for women to just starting to be getting these rights that in reality all women should already have. If the women in Saudi Arabia keep fighting they gain their rights and freedoms.
ReplyDeleteI think it took a long time for women to gain freedom because men were always considered higher up, especially in America. Men always got more job opportunities and rights throughout history, which is common all over the world because when many countries were founded men were seen as higher in power than women which has carried on into the present. For Saudi Arabia, I think the next step should be to give back smaller rights that women do not have and over time, hopefully a short amount of time, women will be equal to men.
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ReplyDeleteI think that it took a very long time for women to receive the respect they deserve
ReplyDeleteand their freedom. Men are always considered "superior" to women and are scared for women
to be considered equal as them. I think in due time, women would will get their rights in Saudi Arabia, but hopefully it will be in a short amount of time so that they can be treated equally as men.
I think that it took so long for women to gain freedom because (just like in many other dates in history) there is always one group that feels more superior than the other. And in the case of Saudi Arabia; it has to do with men taking actions with their unjustifiable beliefs. The next step for bringing Saudi Arabia closer to equality would probably be taking away the necessity for women to need their man's permission/ grants for simple tasks like medical procedures, obtaining permits, and traveling. I don't believe just laws can change this. But if we can change the culture of of Saudi Arabia (+ beliefs and values); Then, Women can get more rights and get closer to freedom.
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