Wednesday, December 19, 2012

A long road ahead for equal rights in Saudi Arabia

Great news for Manal al-Sharif, the Saudi activist who rose to prominence after footage of her driving on the Kingdom’s roads went viral on YouTube last year.
She was arrested, of course, and spent time in jail for defying the authorities, but a small and committed campaign emerged nonetheless. Their tactics were simple: Sharif and her cohorts repeatedly applied to the General Directorate of Traffic for a driving licence, only to be refused on each occasion. That seemed to change yesterday when a euphoric Sharif tweeted a picture of her new driving licence. The only downside is that it was issued by the United Arab Emirates. Saudi women still face a long road ahead in their quest for equal rights.

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