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Rolling Thunder Needed by Saudi Women

By Daniel Gaijin

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Published: 17Jun2011
Word count: 730
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Saudi Arabia's #women2drive #Jun17 movement is in need to male protectors. Since Manal Al Sharif quietly stated that Saudi women will exercise their right on drive June 17, 2011, she has attracted international attention to the human rights situation of all Saudi women, and created a hole in the government's stability dike that cannot be repaired by further oppression.

The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vices ("CPVPV"), that gang of thugs that is just the opposite of its name and an embarrassment to most faithful Muslims, has loudly proclaimed that men should beat their wives who drive with the wire rope that holds their head covering in place. One businessman said he would donate 50 cases of the devices to be put on street corners, so that random men could beat driving women. It is widely reported that one Sheikh Abdul Rahman al-Barak has even suggested in an audio recording that women driving should die, calling them "evil."

Where are Saudi men in this controversy? Many do not dare to confront their royal masters by allowing their women to drive, even though they agree that women should have more rights and freedoms in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. While even King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has stated that women will be able to drive in Saudi Arabia, even he has not confronted the CPVPV on their misogynist threats.

There is now a Facebook page proclaiming that men will protect Saudi women who drive on June 17, 2011. Maha Taher, a noted women's rights advocate, has offered to put men in the car of women who want to drive but have no men to protect them. Unfortunately, this opens another can of worms foisted on Saudi citizens by the CPVPV, because it is haram ("forbidden") for unrelated men to be in public together with Saudi women. Of course, this turns a blind eye to the fact that unrelated non-Saudi male drivers are in public with Saudi women every day throughout the country.

All of this brings to mind the role of Rolling Thunder, the large group of motorcycle enthusiasts who are committed to helping American veterans from all wars. We Americans have our own gang of religious thugs known as the Westboro Baptist Church. This congregation takes it upon itself to attend the funerals of American soldiers fallen in combat and loudly protest the government allowing gays in the military, even though the fallen soldier was not gay, and had no interest in the cause of gays. The result was that they destroyed many military funerals.

When the members of Rolling Thunder heard about this injustice, they began to organize large rallies on behalf of the families of the fallen soldiers. Local authorities now normally do keep protesters a respectful distance from funerals. Rolling Thunder members position themselves between the Westboro Baptist Church protesters and the family of the fallen service man or woman. When the protesters begin to shout their hateful slogans, Rolling Thunder members rev their engines to drown out the message.

Which brings me back to Saudi Arabia, where there are very large Harley-Davidson clubs throughout the country. These motorcyclists could offer to come between women drivers and the hateful CPVPV, thereby making the confrontation between legal motorcycle drivers and the gang of CPVPV thugs. This would be a statement that Saudi men do support their women, and will protect them from injustice.

Manal Al Sharif never proposed a demonstration nor did she propose anything illegal. She carried an international driver's license, which should have permitted her to drive in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She proclaimed her loyalty to king and country, and merely called for women to exercise their legal right. Since the controversy began, Saudi authorities have been hard pressed to identify a valid law or religious edict, which prohibits women from driving.

The Harley-Davidson clubs of Saudi Arabia could provide an invaluable service while highlighting the right of women to drive anywhere in the Kingdom. Once that is accomplished, the government can simply begin to issue Saudi driver's licenses to women. After a few more weeks of controversy, life would go on, and the CPVPV would have to find something else to whine and wet about—and they will.

Daniel Gaijin is a photographer and human rights activist in the San Francisco area. He often writes for the Archetype in Action Organization.

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