Zulfa is a controversial member of the Shoura Council who doesn't shy away from talking on issues the Saudi society prefers to be silent about. He won supporters and sharp critics when he raised the issue of women driving in the Shoura Council in 2006. Recently, this topic resurfaced when the Hail Rally was almost not being held because women could not participate in it. The Rally, however, did not receive official international recognition because of that. Rasheed Al-Jarallah spoke to Aal Zulfa and the following is the text of the interview: Q – You expected that the Hail Rally would not be held because women were not participating in it. Do you insist on your opinion, which, according to some, was part of your stand on the issue of women driving cars? A – Indeed, I support anyone who helps in making the Rally a success. The organizers succeeded in solving the issue of women's participation. I consider it something good for which they deserve to be thanked. I congratulate their success, it has pleased me a lot. Most importantly, our regular participation in world championships is now ensured, even if (the Rally) was only for men. This will put us on the world map of sports. Hence I think it's necessary for me to congratulate all for being able to continue participating in the world championship, though my expectations failed. What I meant was: the Rally should not be stopped for something we are not in agreement about like women's driving. Though, I'm not saying women should be involved in everything. Q – What is, in your opinion, the reason that closes the door for women to drive cars in the Kingdom? A – A small segment in the society has a loud voice opposing this matter. This segment believes that when it raises its voice no one can confront it. Q – Who do you mean explicitly? A – I believe members of the religious institution are exploiting the simplicity of the society due to the absence of pluralism and the courage to express opinions. Q – What is the interest of the religious institution in preventing women from driving? A – God knows, but it could be because of not understanding reality and Fiqh. This does not mean I doubt our scholars. I urge them to realize the dangers Saudi women are exposed to from the human wolves – the foreign drivers – and the social problems stemming out of this. Q – Do you agree that the demand for allowing women to drive cars started 30 years ago? A – No doubt about that. I know some of the first people who made this plea, they are still alive. But times have changed. Now they cannot repeat what they were saying before. It should be understood that the issue of women driving is not the ‘brainchild' of Dr. Muhammed Aal-Zulfa. I only revived it in 2006, when I raised this issue at the Shoura Council. The most important development was that this issue was raised from within one of the most important legislative institutions in the Kingdom, though the Council opposed it at that time. From the depth of my heart, I thank the leadership for granting people the right to express their opinion. Q – How do you answer those who describe your demand as ‘excessively selfish' about an issue which the society has been rejecting for decades? A – This is not selfishness. Earlier, the plea was made at a time when many did not possess cars. And they were more persistent on this demand than at present when the number of cars on the roads has increased tremendously. Q – Some criticize you saying you have ulterior motives for raising this issue. A – What kind of motives do they mean? Q – They say that though you have been a member of the Shoura Council since 1998, you only became famous after raising this issue. So you have earned fame and have become one of the most popular Shoura Council members. A – This is absolutely incorrect. I said what I believed was in the interest of the society, and it created all this fuss. This does not mean I did it for fame or publicity. When two or three people in the Shoura Council raise hot issues they are branded as sensationalists or those looking for fame. I swear by God this idea never crossed my mind and I have never sought personal glory. Being a member of the Shoura Council, it is my duty to talk about issues in the interest of the society. Q – People who oppose women driving ask why do you oversimplify this issue? On what criterion do you base your judgment as we have not experienced such a situation yet? A – The fuss going on now is similar to what was being said about female education earlier in the Kingdom. It was believed that education would strip women of their decency and politeness. The reply for this doesn't need an explanation. We now have thousands of schools and universities accommodating tens of thousands of female students. This raises a question about the pretexts of these people. The number of the female students in some places exceeds that of the male. This leads to an important question: Are our society's morals being affected in anyway? Q – Who will guarantee women's driving in the Kingdom will be a success? A – If it was allowed, I think, in the beginning there won't be many female drivers. Q – Nearly 25 years have passed since this demand was made, still no concrete step has been taken. What do you think the future of this matter will be? A – I think this issue is causing great damage to the Kingdom. It needs to be resolved through a political decision. Q – Don't you think adopting this decision will be oppressive to our society? A – We have genuine monitoring tools for measuring public opinions. Through opinion poll centers we can assess how suitable the decision will be. Q – But all studies carried out with this regard have proved the opposite? A – Yes, because all these studies were not objective and the statistics were not scientifically sound. Q – Perhaps, the authorities don't want this? A – No, on the contrary, our leadership is more advanced than the society. Q – What do you mean? A – I mean that if our leaders had submitted to our society's wishes in the past, we would not have reached this progress. We would not have had radio, press or television. Q – How do you look at the attempts some women did to impose their opinion between 1991-2005? A – My stand is clear. I am against challenges and putting barriers because this leads to nowhere and will yield similar reactions. Let's together discuss the possibility of having women drive cars in the Kingdom. Q – Do think an economic reason behind the ban is that if women were allowed to drive, the number of cars will increase? A – I don't think so. Now, a driver is required to drive the family car, (if allowed) the women would drive themselves. Q – Do all families in the Kingdom have drivers? A – Yes, especially in big cities like Riyadh, with the exception of places like Hail, where fathers, brothers and husbands drive for their families. Q – How do you view Qatar's experience and the increase in the number of accidents there? A – It is a good experience to begin with. Qatari society is similar to our society, in traditions and customs. I don't know about the rate of traffic accidents in Qatar that was caused by women. As far as I know, the rate of traffic accidents in the US and Europe caused by women is lower than men. If women in the Kingdom drive, they will be given all respect and will be given priority at the intersections.
