Clinton backs 'brave' Saudi women

21 June 2011 Last updated at 18:41 GMT Many Saudi women defied the ban on driving by getting behind the wheel US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has praised "brave" Saudi women who are campaigning for the right to drive.

Mrs Clinton said they were "right" to press their demands in the ultra-conservative kingdom, in her first public comments on the issue.

Many Saudi women openly took to the roads last Friday in defiance of an official ban on female drivers.

Last month a woman was arrested after uploading a video of herself driving a car.

"What these women are doing is brave, and what they are seeking is right," Mrs Clinton told reporters when asked to comment on the campaign.

"I'm moved by it and I support them."

'Quiet diplomacy'

However, she underlined that she was not interfering in the internal affairs of Saudi Arabia, a key US ally in the Middle East.

Continue reading the main story Kim Ghattas BBC state department correspondent

This was the first time that Mrs Clinton openly - and very forcefully - gave her support to Saudi women who want to drive. Her comments will not go down well with some Saudi officials or Saudi clerics.

The relationship between the two allies has been made even more complicated by the Arab uprisings, with conservative Saudi Arabia worried the US is choosing political reform over stability and security.

Washington had so far opted for quiet diplomacy on the issue of Saudi women's rights.

But with more Saudi women defying the driving ban and the call by activists for Mrs Clinton to speak out, it was no longer possible to stay silent.

It's also possible Mrs Clinton gave the Saudis advance notice that her public statement was coming - the issue came up in a conversation on Friday with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.

"I want to underscore the fact that this is not coming from outside of their country. This is the women themselves seeking to be recognised," she said.

Mrs Clinton's comments came a day after a US State Department spokeswoman said Mrs Clinton was engaged in "quiet diplomacy" over the issue.

Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that Mrs Clinton had raised the driving ban issue in a recent telephone call with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.

In an open letter to Mrs Clinton on Tuesday - released before her statement - Saudi women's rights activists said they were "disappointed" by the US approach.

The letter, from the Saudi Women for Driving coalition, reads: "Secretary Clinton: quiet diplomacy is not what we need right now. What we need is for you, personally, to make a strong, simple and public statement supporting our right to drive."

Last month, Manal al-Sherif was arrested after uploading a video of herself driving.

She was accused of "besmirching the kingdom's reputation abroad and stirring up public opinion", but was released after 10 days having promised not to drive again.

Since then, direct action has been organised on social network sites, with women posting images and videos of themselves driving.

The Women2Drive Facebook page has said that the direct action would continue until a royal decree reversed the ban.

The ban is not enforced by law, but is a religious fatwa imposed by conservative Muslim clerics.

It is one of a number of severe restrictions on women in Saudi Arabia.

Supporters say it relieves women of the obligation to drive and also prevents them from leaving home unescorted or travelling with an unrelated male.

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Saudi women drivers stage protest

17 June 2011 Last updated at 12:58 GMT Saudi woman explains why she breaks the driving ban

Women in Saudi Arabia have been openly driving cars in defiance of an official ban on female drivers in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

The direct action has been organised on social network sites, where women have been posting images and videos of themselves behind the wheel.

The Women2Drive Facebook page said the direct action would continue until a royal decree reversed the ban.

Last month, a woman was arrested after uploading a video of herself driving.

Manal al-Sherif was accused of "besmirching the kingdom's reputation abroad and stirring up public opinion", but was released after 10 days having promised not to drive again.

Campaigners have not called for a mass protest - which would be illegal - but have asked women who have foreign driving licences to drive themselves as they go about their daily life.

"All that we need is to run our errands without depending on drivers," said one woman in the first film posted in the early hours of Friday morning.

The film showed the unnamed woman talking as she drove to a supermarket and parking.

"It is not out of love for driving or traffic or the experience. All this is about is that if I wanted to go to work, I can go. If I needed something I can go and get it.

"I think that society is ready to welcome us."

Another protester said she drove around the streets of Riyadh for 45 minutes "to make a point".

"I took it directly to the streets of the capital," said Maha al-Qahtani, a computer specialist at the Ministry of Education.

Religious fatwa

On Twitter, Mrs Qahtani described the route she had taken around the city with her husband, saying: "I decided that the car for today is mine."

Her husband said she was carrying her essential belongings with her and was "ready to go to prison without fear", AFP news agency reported.

One woman who asked not to be named told the BBC driving was often considered to be "something really minor".

The ban is one of a number of restrictions Saudi women face in daily life

"It's not one of your major rights. But we tell them that even if you give us all the basic and big rights, that you are claiming are more important than driving, we can't enjoy practising those rights because the mobility is not there.

"We can't move around without a male."

The motoring ban is not enforced by law, but is a religious fatwa imposed by conservative Muslim clerics. It is one of a number of severe restrictions on women in the country.

Supporters of the ban say it protects women and relieves them of the obligation to drive, while also preventing them from leaving home unescorted or travelling with an unrelated male.

But the men and women behind the campaign - emboldened by uprisings across the Middle East and Arab world - say they hope the ban will be lifted and that other reforms will follow.

Amnesty International has said the Saudi authorities "must stop treating women as second-class citizens", describing the ban as "an immense barrier to their freedom of movement".

The last mass protest against the ban took place in 1990, when a group of 47 women were arrested for driving and severely punished - many subsequently lost their jobs.

The women were angered that female US soldiers based in the kingdom could drive freely while they could not.

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