Saudi prince: It's time to allow women to drive

According to foreign media reports, Saudi Arabia is currently the only country in the world that prohibits women from driving cars. However, this tough legal provision has now been challenged by a Saudi prince who has attracted attention in Saudi Arabia for supporting women's struggle for legitimate rights.

“Please stop arguing, it’s time to allow women to drive,” Prince Alwaleed Bin Tala, who has no official office but has business ties to the ruling Saudi royal family, said this week.

According to Al Jazeera, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has been committed to the fight for women's rights in Saudi Arabia. The prince also issued a relatively long public statement titled "Now is a good time to allow Saudi women to start driving cars." The statement also called for more rights for women in the desert kingdom. He also compared the example of women driving and receiving education, and pointed out that those who think that expanding women's rights is harmful to the country are wrong.

Prince Alwaleed bin Tara said: "Today, preventing a woman from driving is like prohibiting her from getting an education or preventing her from having her own independent identity. These are injustices formed by traditional societies and are far more restrictive than what religious precepts allow."

The prince also pointed out that allowing women to drive is not only the right thing to do, but also makes good economic sense. Some families have to pay an extra $1,000 per month to hire male drivers to drive for women. With oil prices long down, many Saudi families are beginning to feel the pinch this year. This fall, a large number of foreign workers working in Saudi Arabia protested because their wages were not paid for several months.

Saudi government workers, including 70 percent of working families, are facing austerity measures starting in September, according to the Independent, as the country scrambles to avoid another disaster similar to 2015, when Saudi Arabia ran a $100 billion deficit.

For many years, Saudi women have been actively fighting for the right to drive. Every October 26, Saudi women climb onto the wheels of cars to protest against unfair laws against them. Saudi women also practice their driving skills by driving bumper cars.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.