Saudi Arabia joins UN Womens Rights Commission

[Sparko]

yeah.



http://thehill.com/policy/internatio...ght-commission

[KingsGambit]

Might makes right, of course.

[seer]

yeah.



http://thehill.com/policy/internatio...ght-commission

You can't make this stuff up! No wonder we think the UN has lost all moral authority.

[TheWall]

On the one hand this doesnt surprise me. On the other hand what are you doing united nations.

[KingsGambit]

The US does not exactly have the moral authority to be indignant given they have long looked the other way at Saudi Arabia's abysmal rights record for obvious economic reasons. But I do feel that the United Nations is worse than useless.

[seer]

But I do feel that the United Nations is worse than useless.

Well we agree on that...

[Mountain Man]

In other news, Mr. Fox was appointed as head of security of the chicken coop.

[Mountain Man]

lBut I do feel that the United Nations is worse than useless.

My high school class toured the UN. When we visited the main chamber, the tour guide asked, "Do you know what happens in here?"

My friend said under his breath, "Nothing important."

[Carrikature]

You can't make this stuff up! No wonder we think the UN has lost all moral authority.

It never had moral authority.

[Roy]

IIRC Saudi Arabia does not ban women from driving cars - the law only says that women in cars must have a male chauffeur, it doesn't say that the male chauffeur must be the one driving.

[rogue06]

IIRC Saudi Arabia does not ban women from driving cars - the law only says that women in cars must have a male chauffeur, it doesn't say that the male chauffeur must be the one driving.

Source: Seven things women in Saudi Arabia cannot do

Drive a car
There is no official law that bans women from driving, but deeply held religious beliefs prohibit it, with Saudi clerics arguing that female drivers "undermine social values".

In 2011, the "Women2Drive" campaign encouraged women to disregard the laws and post images and videos of themselves driving on social media to raise awareness of the issue in an attempt to force change. It was not a major success.

Saudi journalist Talal Alharbi says women should be allowed to drive - but only to take their children to school or a family member to hospital. "Women should accept simple things", he writes for Arab News. "This is a wise thing women could do at this stage. Being stubborn won't support their cause.


Source

© Copyright Original Source

Source: Let Women Drive, a Prince in Saudi Arabia Urges

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© Copyright Original Source

Those are from last September and November respectively. Still it appears that in there is an exception

Source: Are Saudi women still not allowed to drive? If yes, what is the main reason?

Actually, there is no law that prohibits women from driving in Saudi Arabia, neither civil nor religious!

What there is, is strong social belief that women's driving is hazardous to the moral well-being of the country and society. There is deep suspicion in Saudi Arabia that woman--excepting everyone's own mother and sisters, of course--is a morally flawed being, a seductress, either overt or covert, just waiting to ruin the morals of any passing male. As sex without the benefit of marriage is both a sin and a crime, all steps necessary to prevent this are to be taken.

This attitude, however, is largely confined to the major cities. Saudi women do drive in rural areas, where driving is simply a necessity. Women on farms or in pastures drive pickup trucks and SUVs because they need to be able to move animals, fodder, and the like. If they don't, the family starves. The men in those areas understand this and so do not object. In urban areas, things are closer together, there are more people (and more opportunities to sin), and there's somewhat of a public transportation system. So, the thinking goes, women don't need to drive.

Saudi society has major psychological and logical conflicts on the issue. While non-related men and women are not supposed to be in close and closed proximity, foreign drivers are not seen as 'male' somehow, at least for these purposes. That relations between Saudi women and their foreign drivers sometimes reaches 'heated' levels is well-reported. Still, having a Saudi woman being driven around by a foreigner is okay by societal standards.


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© Copyright Original Source

[seer]

It never had moral authority.

Well what authority did it have?

[JonathanL]

Well what authority did it have?

Political?

[seer]

Political?

I guess to a certain degree legal too. All and all they have been pretty ineffective.

[Sparko]

Well, do they issue drivers licenses to women? Can't drive without a license legally. So you wouldn't have to have a law against women driving, just don't give them licenses.