The issue of Saudi women's driving has been “pending” for decades, while the government has repeated that it is a “social issue” without ratifying clear laws - whether with or against it - despite the active movement supporting that right and the growing demand to secure it year after year. The issue is not difficult and is rather simple if the government wishes to simplify it by drawing up a law allowing women to drive, in what goes in line with the domestic social changes. There are Saudi women who are interested in this issue and are driving their cars from time to time in the streets of the big cities. Whenever they are pulled over, they are forced to make a pledge or be delivered to their guardians before they are released. This is true except in the case of Manal al-Sharif who was imprisoned for several days and came out even more determined to support the initiative “It is my right to drive” alongside other Saudi women. There is a growing domestic need to resolve this issue in light of the presence of female teachers, employees, widows, divorcees and others who cannot afford the services or the housing of chauffeurs, not to mention the fact that some of these women were harassed by taxi drivers. Moreover, women were prevented from participating in the municipal elections for the second time in a row, while the official justification for that prohibition was “bleak” and did not rise up to the level of women's accomplishments, desires and capabilities seen during the last few years. Upon the end of the first municipal elections around six years ago, officials came out and heralded the imminent participation of women in the next elections. However, the Ministry of Municipalities obstructed the accomplishment of women's dreams once again, although they represent half the population in the Kingdom based on the official polls. What interests me in this article is not the rearrangement of the priorities by placing women's driving in the first place and women's participation in the municipal elections in the second place, although of both these issues pertain to women's rights. This is due to the fact that they have been put down in the media in the absence of any solutions on the horizon. What concerns me nonetheless - just like all the Saudi youth - is the lack of ownership of houses due to the high prices of the lands and the realty. During the last few days, the talk focused on the Monopoly movie, which shed light on the housing crisis and the familial stability problem, especially since it was presented in a touching and dramatic context and rang the alarm bell in a professional way for which we thank Director Badr al-Hamoud. The latter youth worked hard on behalf of the others to activate this “heated” file whose seriousness is being disregarded by the concerned official bodies, at a time when their search for solutions that could resolve a predicament carrying social, economic and security repercussions is quite slow. Economic writer Essam Al-Zamil stirred the “clotted” wounds by revealing that the percentage of Saudis capable of owning a house did not exceed 10% in an oil-rich country, in accordance with the average monthly wages. As for the housing minister in such a vast country, he said: “Do not hold me accountable unless lands are available,” as if he was saying: “I have no solution.” In the film, Al-Zamil seemed to be “indirectly” responding to the statements of the minister by assuring that the vacant lands constituted 50% of the overall lands in the country, and that if taxes were imposed on them, the property prices would immediately drop. Also in the film, one of the youth voiced an expression repeated by many Saudis, thus praying: “May God bless us with a good piece of land, whether on the ground or at sea.” This hints to the fact that the problem is massive and that the youth have had enough. Al-Zamil among others assures that one of the drastic solutions would be to impose fees on vacant lands as per the recommendations of the Shura Council, so that the traders would start selling instead of keeping these lands for long periods of time. The housing problem is escalating every year and is becoming a time bomb that could explode at any moment if the government does not adopt the necessary and decisive solutions without any stalling, especially since the youth represent 60% of the population. A study was conducted by the Faculty Member at the Institute of Public Administration Amir al-Alwan, under the headline: “The housing programs in Saudi Arabia and the extent to which the employees are benefiting from them.” It shows that over 61% of public sector employees do not have houses of their own and that 66% of them live in small apartments or with their parents. What is certain is that the steep realty prices in Saudi Arabia constitute a phenomenon which has been resisting any breakthrough for years, and has been causing other problems that are impacting the Saudis' stability. Still, there is hope in seeing the government intervening to put out the “flames” of the predicament, or else it will turn into a cancerous tumor which will be difficult to remove due to the population increase and the depletion of the solutions. At this point, I would like to quote an article carried by Al-Watan newspaper on February 14 under the headline “The housing problem, the facts and the solutions” by Prince Fahd Bin Saad al-Saud. It is necessary to draft plans and programs that will secure houses for citizens and implement policies that would increase the motivation of the ministries, the major corporations, the governmental institutions and the civil and cooperative associations to contribute to the funding of housing programs for their members and the other citizens in the country. Moreover, the government must hastily conduct a full inventory and accurate calculations shedding light on the depth of the crisis, in order to find quick solutions that would end the problem. It must hold the concerned ministries accountable for their shortcomings toward the citizens, because any delay or sluggishness at the level of this file will lead to the accumulation and widening of the problems, as well as to the increase of the burdens, especially since the obstacles are no longer a secret to anyone.
