Tariq A. Al-Maeena The SUV ahead of me was weaving dangerously into heavy merging traffic. Initially keeping a safe distance behind, I finally managed to pull up to the driver's side to give him a piece of my mind. Lowering my window, I saw the figure of a petrified Asian driver crouched low behind the wheel with a look of total terror. Glancing at the back seat occupants, I noticed three women huddled together and looking just as terrified as their driver. I quickly concluded that the driver was new to the country and had had very little driving experience in the country that he came from. And here he was in heavy traffic trying to navigate a machine that could kill someone. How tragic it would have been if he had caused a serious collision with the loss of the lives of the people he had been hired to drive. We have heard enough stories of such occurrences with heartbreaking consequences. I have asked more than once: Why are we allowing this to happen? Why are we putting our women and children in a position of danger at the hands of very inexperienced drivers? If not danger, then they possibly face harassment from the very people who are driving them around. Why do we have the distinction of being the only country in the world that denies women the right to drive? Is it our culture, our social norms? Again, this does not seem to be a credible argument, as some towns and villages have womenfolk driving back and forth in pickups to farms and fields to help in the harvest or in the herding of livestock. The arguments for allowing women to drive today are increasing. As more and more women enter the workforce, they are finding it difficult to get to their place of work. Some women are responsible for taking care of their elderly parents. Then there are the increasing number of divorced women who are taking care of themselves and their children. It is a dent in their budget to recruit, hire and provide accommodation for a driver, especially if they are just starting to earn a living. And then again, the inexperience of some drivers has indeed led to many a sorrowful death. No one can share greater concern for the safety of a child than the parents themselves, and it is not often convenient for the man of the household to be shuttling his children between schools and getting to work on time. Not everybody can afford the expenses of a family driver. It is expected that some will resist the idea of women driving. But such people also resisted moves in the past that called for women to work freely in the marketplace. Should we allow ourselves to be held hostage by the extreme views of such groups? Leading clerics have publicly stated in recent times that it is not a sin for women to drive. Now I realize the government has a dilemma on its hands. How do you introduce women driving without causing some major problems? Obviously, women drivers initially will be targets of attention, some of it unwarranted, in a society not accustomed to seeing women behind the wheel. What happens if they are chased by a depraved man? What happens if they are involved in a collision? The answer is zero tolerance for anyone bothering these women. They must be protected. CCTV cameras installed on all roads and streets will help authorities track down males caught in the harassment of women. They should have their heads shaved and their photos displayed in newspapers, as some countries in the Gulf do. The authorities can take it one step at a time. Open up driving schools for women and begin issuing licenses to them. Start hiring women for the traffic force. Start allowing licensed women accompanied by their male guardians to drive. Only permit women to drive who are above a certain age. Limit the driving hours for women between sunrise and sunset initially, until the novelty of seeing an abaya-clad woman behind the wheel wears off. We are in a fast-moving world, and our women today are being educated globally in large numbers. For them to be able to help build their country, these barriers must be removed.
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