More than eight months after Saudi Arabia officially lifted the ban on women driving, the topic is still raising controversy in the conservative society of Saudi Arabia; the only country in the world where women weren't allowed to drive until September 2017.
The hashtag: “لن تقودي لن تقودي” which is literally translated to: "You won't drive, you won't drive" flooded the Saudi social media feed during the last few days with people split between opponents and supporters of the new law.
Saudi women used the hashtag to post videos and images while they are taking driving lessons.
Other women went to criticize Saudi men who are strongly opposing the new law:
While opponents of the law were mostly men who were calling on women to stay home, a Saudi woman, surprisingly, expressed her opposition to the topic by saying:
Translation: “I am the most opponent girl to [women] driving, although most girls are happy with it. Why we should drive? We have our brothers, fathers, uncles, so you don’t need to drive ever. I pray they will not allow women to drive because it will be destruction.”
Meanwhile, there were several Saudi men who welcomed the new law and expressed their pleasure at witnessing such a change in the Saudi society:
Earlier in September 2017, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz issued a decree ending 30 years of oppression against women. The step paves the way for other expected reforms in the kingdom on women’s issues.
The government has already started providing education about cars and driving for Saudi women through schools and exhibitions. The latest was women’s exhibition for cars that kicked off earlier this week.
The first-of-its-kind exhibition is expected to attract more than 80,000 visitors, and it will allow women to know all the car dealerships and the special offers in the kingdom. It will also introduce women to insurance companies and cars accessories, according to the Saudi Gazette.
