End ban on women driving, UN expert tells S Arabia
 

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s government should end the kingdom’s ban on women driving and reform the male guardianship system, a United Nations independent expert said on Thursday.

Philip Alston spoke at the end of a 12-day visit during which he met cabinet ministers, people living in poverty, activists, Islamic experts and others. “My concern is that the government is in fact deferring to a relatively small portion of conservative voices,” Alston told a news conference.

This is obstructing the eco**mic and social progress which the oil-rich kingdom aims to achieve under its Vision 2030 wide-ranging reform programme, said Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.

“So I feel very strongly that the kingdom should move to enable women to drive cars,” said Alston, an independent expert who reports to the UN’s Human Rights Council. He said features of the guardianship system which hinder women’s ability to work and travel “need to be reformed.”

Under that system a male family member, **rmally the father, husband or brother, must grant permission for a woman’s study, travel and other activities.

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