JEDDAH: A top Saudi cleric challenged a ban on women driving Tuesday, saying women should be allowed more social participation in the Kingdom. “Clerics have studied the issue and no one has come up with a (Holy Qur'an) verse that would forbid female driving,” said Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, head of Makkah region's Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai'a). “I do not consider it to be forbidden,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a women's empowerment event here. Women are subject to a male “guardianship” system which requires they show permission from their guardian – father, brother or husband – in order to travel or, sometimes, work. The Hai'a teams patrol the streets regularly to ensure gender segregation and that women are dressed modestly. “There is a lot of trepidation in the society,” Al-Ghamdi said. “Even those who have a conviction about the importance of women's role in society are afraid of the harm and accusations that they may face and that is why a lot of people avoid opening that door,” the cleric added.
