WUNRN
The Consultative
Assembly of Saudi Arabia also known as Majlis
as-Shura or Shoura Council is the formal advisory body of Saudi
Arabia, an absolute monarchy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consultative_Assembly_of_Saudi_Arabia
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Saudi Arabia - Shoura Council Reconsidering Women Driving
01-10-11 - AL-KHOBAR — In view of the popular campaign for allowing women to
drive in the Kingdom, the Shoura Council is thoroughly reconsidering the issue,
said Dr. Misha’l Mamdooh Al-Ali, Chairman of the Council’s Human Rights
Committee.
Allowing women to drive does not conflict with Islamic law, he said, adding
that the majority of people oppose women driving based on tradition and
customs. “It has nothing to do with religion,” Al-Ali was quoted by Al-Hayat
Arabic daily as saying.
Many Saudi women say their driving does not contradict the Shariah and there is
no religious reason that prevents them from driving, he added. He said these
women have appointed a lawyer to follow up the issue at the Shoura Council.
“The human rights committee is waiting for the Chairman of the Shoura Council
to study the case and refer it back to the committee,” he said.
“The Shoura Council will study any issue put on the table as long as it is in
the interest of citizens and residents,” he said. The Shoura Council will allow
the lawyer and his female clients to attend the session when the issue is
discussed, he said.
Dr. Al-Ali hoped that Sheikh Abdul Aziz Aal Al-Sheikh, the Grand Mufti of the
Kingdom, and other senior Ulema (scholars) would give their opinion on the
issue. “We will comply with what they say because they know better and know
what is best for us.”
The Shoura Council members are studying the issue thoroughly from different
social, economic and security aspects, he said.
One important goal that his committee seeks to achieve is to ensure that there
are female police so that female drivers are treated with respect, he
explained.