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Saudi Women Protest For Right To Drive (1300l) - Middle School Reading Article Worksheet Page 2

Vale Middle School Reading Article

Saudi Women Protest for Right to Drive (1300L)

Notes on my thoughts,

Osama is correct. Officially there is no national law prohibiting women from

reactions and questions as I

getting behind the wheel. However, local authorities, claiming strict adherence

read:

to a version of Sunni Islamic law known as Wahhabism, do not issue drivers’

licenses to women.

On her way home from the hospital, Osama, who learned to drive in the United

States, was detained by religious police and charged with “besmirching the

kingdom’s reputation abroad” and inciting public opinion.

Another woman, 32-year-old Manal Al-Sharif, an information technology

specialist who works for the state-run oil company Saudi Aramco, was detained

on May 21 for 10 days after uploading a video to Youtube showing her driving a

car.

“I’m doing it because I’m frustrated, angry and mad,” Al-Sharif told Bloomberg

News. “It’s 2011 and we’re still discussing this insignificant right for women.”

Al-Sharif, who also learned to drive in the United States, was charged with

inciting public opinion and disturbing the public order. She is one of the

organizers, and her experience has become a flashpoint for the movement,

enlisting thousands more supporters on social media sites and inspiring others to

violate the ban.

At least eight women have been detained recently by police for violating the

ban, and the response of the religious police demonstrates the government’s

intent to stand firm against the tide of reform known both as the Arab Spring and

the Jasmine Revolution.

It’s not the first time Saudi women have demonstrated for this right. On

November 6, 1990, 47 Saudi women, inspired by the sight of female American

soldiers driving cars, drove themselves around Riyadh, the country’s capital.

The government’s response was swift– after half an hour, they were stopped by

police, and many were arrested, fired from their government jobs, and

denounced by Islamic clerics.

In 2005, King Abdullah, the rule of Saudi Arabia, said the ban would be lifted

although did not follow up with specifics.

Carlson, R. Saudi women protest for right to drive. NewsHour Extra. Available at

Saudi Women Protest For Right To Drive (1300l) - Middle School Reading Article Worksheet Page 2