Women Allowed to Drive in KSA 

Saudi Arabia issued a decree in the recent past thereby lifting the ban on women against driving which will be effective from 2018/06. Sexism has been the main cause for barring KSA’s women from driving. The real root causes of sexism remain disputed, complicated, and usually controversial. However, it is never caused by race, religion or ethnicity many have though before. The Turkish led to Arab misogyny/sexism because they ruled Arabs for many years and twisted the cultures thereby accommodating their dominance. They use such tricks as buying submission of Arab men by offering them absolute power over women leading to sexism. This is because these foreign overlords ruled public sphere as local men ruled private sphere, leaving with nothing to rule thus leading to “patriarchal bargain”. This led to spread of misogynist idea with misogynist men who could have otherwise stood on margins, gradually but certainly ingraining such sexism ideas into Arab societies.

This greatly accounts for the inferiority of women against men hence the reason women have never been allowed to drive. This new law and a model for other laws must be addressed to allow women get full freedom. Besides the lifted driving ban, women still seem not freed and the following laws must also be removed to end the guardianship. Local authorities must now issue women with driving licence to lift the de facto ban. KSA must expand remove the limitation of the women’s public behavior. They must be allowed to make decisions without permission from men to dismantle the restrictive guardianship system as this is the major barrier to realizing rights of women in KSA. Women must also be allowed to wear clothes or make-up which “show off their beauty”. The irrational strict interpretation of Islamic law bars dress code for women. This will bar the religious police from harassing women for expositing what they think to be too much flesh/make-up.

Women must also be allowed to freely interact with men without restricting the amount of time they spend with men to whom they are unrelated. Women must also be allowed to go for swimming by lifting the ban against women use of public swimming pools. Presently, the most prominent technique of transporting women in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is either being driven by a male family member, or via the utilization of ride-hailing apps. 1 in five households further has a hired household driver for such purpose. Many changes will ensure following the announcement hence impacting households (both genders), automotive brands, the economy, and others. Majority of KSAs (63 percent) were glad about this decree. There is a belief that lifting this ban on women driving will have a positive influence on the KSA’s modernization and increased reliance on the women. Conversely, others believe that the lifting will have adverse implications on matters linked to traffic and road safety alongside as surged harassment of women on the street. In this paper, I will try to use the artistic proofs (logos, ethos, and pathos) to show that the lifting will be more beneficial not only to the women, but also men and the entire economy of KSA.

The decision by the KSA’s government to lift the long-lasting policy that forbids driving among women from remains a plausible step. This policy stood as a global sign of subjugation of female in the ultraconservative kingdom (Fay 54). Banning is useful because it eventually brings parity between women and men by allowing equal rights. This decision appeals to logic because many people from different countries have been wondering why the ban has remained un-lifted for this long. When it is true that other women are better drivers than men in other countries, no logic can be attached in supporting this ban. Women must remain equal to men because statistics have shown that many women do better as drivers than male counterparts. A significant percentage of women drivers have been reported to be keen on the wheels than men. Therefore, it is stepping in the right direction for women to be allowed to drive themselves around (Hudson and Patricia 54). Allowing women to drive themselves is also ethical decision because they will no longer have to be forced to depend on men to drive them to work or workplaces.

This means that women will never have to waste time waiting for their male family members to drive them even when they have to attend to urgency. Logically, women will save much time when they driver by themselves and have the balance of the time that would otherwise be wasted diverted to other income-generating activities (Bradley 67). Women will also feel much of independence which is a step in the direction. This would mean that women will start to think about how they can be self-reliance. This will make the economy to grow as a result of the additional contribution by women drivers. This decision seems to appeal to the audience and hence will get much support as opposed to the ban. This is because it is capable of invoking sympathy and make the audience feel what the decision makers wanted them to think in respect of lifting the ban.

Women’s pity shall have been drawn by making this decision to lift the ban because women have been fighting for this ban to be elevated for an extended period. This decision will thus appeal to pathos or emotions of not only women in KSA but elsewhere and hence decided to get much backing. The story about the ban is an emotional event that has been fought for an extended period. Therefore, having women to drive will no doubt get the required support. The KSA government also seems to employ pathos or appealing to emotion to allow women to the driver in an attempt to correct the damages that this ban has caused to its reputation on a global perspective. It will help boost the country’s global public relations which have been lacking for a long time since the ban was effected.

Thus, the government of KSA seems to appeal to the worldwide audience to regain its lost image. This will help the country get the needed support not only regarding funding but also to be seen as a potential trade partner (Al Alhareth and Ibtisam 56). This will subsequently have a positive economic impact including foreign investors coming into the country. The decision has also approved to the emotions of many professionals young individuals in the country. This has subsequently made them embrace this change which will have positive impacts in improving the living standards of people in KSA.

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