There is one thing people learn very quickly about KSA... change comes slowly, so don't believe it until you see it. But the public discourse about finally allowing women to drive seems to have become more intense during the past month, including:
An April article in Riyadh newspaper, discussing how to implement change in the law, translated and explained very nicely How do we start implementation? One point made is that, for the first time, the discussion is no longer about "whether or not" the ban should be lifted, but is publicly focused on the logistics of making it happen.
A very popular program on Al-Arabiya TV covered the topic last Friday night, after being promoted during prime advertising space on MBC4 during "American Idol." I watched the program (with my daughter's translation help) and found it to be refreshingly positive. Guests (all of whom spoke in favor of lifting the ban) included a former member of the government Advisory Council, a sociologist, and a religious scholar. An article about the program appeared in today's Arab News: Women driving issue resurfaces
Dare one hope... that the driving ban may be lifted during our time in the Kingdom? I'm not going to speculate about exactly when... but maybe... hopefully... before our time here is up? :-)
Written by one of my colleagues who has been living here for over ten years...
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