The Telegraph and MSN.com
The wife of one of Saudi Arabia's most high profile and richest men said she's ready to get behind the wheel if women are ever permitted to drive, highlighting again a contentious issue authorities in the Kingdom prefer to play down.
Princess Amira al-Taweel, who is one of global tycoon Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's wives, told the Saudi daily Al-Watan that she already drives when she travels abroad.
Women in Saudi Arabia are not permitted to drive. Saudi officials usually sidestep the question by saying the issue is a social and not religious one, but over the years a handful of princesses have spoken out in support of driving, including Princess Lolwah Al-Faisal, daughter of the late King Faisal, at the World Economic Forum two years ago.
The Kingdom is the only country in the world to ban women, Saudi and foreign, from driving. The prohibition forces families to hire live-in drivers, and those who cannot afford the US$300 to US$400 a month for a driver must rely on male relatives to drive them to work, school, shopping or to the doctor.
But change will be difficult in this ultraconservative society, where many believe that women at the wheel create situations for sinful temptation. They argue that women drivers will be free to leave home alone, will unduly expose their eyes while driving and will interact with male strangers, such as traffic police and mechanics.
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