RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Women in Saudi Arabia are banding together to press for the freedom to drive automobiles
The recently established League of Demanders of Women's Right to Drive Cars plans to deliver a petition to the king calling on him to restore their right to free movement by allowing them to drive, The Independent reported Friday.
Saudi Arabia is currently the only country in the world that still bans women from driving cars.
The issue has been a matter of heated debate for many years. In 1990 a group of middle class women were arrested when they staged driving protests.
London-based Saudi political analyst Mai Yamani says reformist efforts to lift the barriers to women working mean little if they can't drive.
"You can't keep a woman locked up so she can't get out, drive her child to school." Yamani says. "I definitely believe it is time women were allowed to drive."
