Saudi Woman Driver Sentenced to Lash After King Grants Vote

[Divine Discontent]

Source: Bloomberg



Saudi Woman Driver Sentenced to 10 Lashes After King Grants Vote
September 28, 2011, 5:10 AM EDT

By Donna Abu-Nasr


Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Two days after Saudi King Abdullah’s decision to allow women to participate in elections, two Saudi women were punished for breaking the ban on female driving: One was sentenced to 10 lashes by a court in Jeddah and another was detained in Riyadh.

The incidents highlight the continuing disparity between the rights of men and women in the kingdom. Women may be able to vote and run in the 2015 municipal elections, but they still can’t drive, argue in court before a judge, travel or get an education or a job without male approval.

“Saudi Arabia made the giant leap this week from an F- to an F+ in human rights,” David Keyes, executive director of Advancing Human Rights, said in an e-mailed response to questions on Sept. 27. “It’s unconscionable that in the 21st century a woman cannot drive herself to work, a restaurant or just for the fun of it.”

Saudi Arabia, holder of the world’s biggest oil reserves, has mostly avoided the anti-government demonstrations that have rocked the Arab world this year. The kingdom announced spending plans totaling about 500 billion riyals ($130 billion) to prevent the regional unrest from sparking dissent at home.

Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-28/saudi-woman-driver-sentenced-to-lash-after-king-grants-vote.html

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Disgusting.



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[MADem]

1. They not only cannot drive, they can't leave the house w/o a male relative

And they cannot leave the country w/o the approval of a male head of household.

That vote they were given? That won't happen for four years--at the NEXT municipal elections.

A lot can happen in four years.

[SkyDaddy7]

2. One has to wonder if...

Even when they are "allowed" to vote if it will even count...Their votes will be done in a separate location probably because they always separate the sexes & then once voting is over their votes will be tossed out. I think this move is nothing but smoke & mirrors.

[AverageJoe90]

3. This is what happens when you let extreme right-wing religious fundamentalists take over...........

......like these Islamist shitheads running Saudi Arabia now, take over a nation. We could very well be headed down that very same path if we're not careful.

[Ilsa]

4. Lashes -- how vile. I wonder if there is a punishment for the

Whipper or king who gets an erection over this.

[TBF]

5. So, do we have some missiles to drop on them? That's what we did in Libya.

I'll be waiting.