SAUDI WOMAN RECEIVES 10 LASHES FOR DRIVING

Saudi Woman Sentenced To Lashes For Driving

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9:35am UK, Wednesday September 28, 2011

A Saudi woman has been sentenced to 10 lashes with a whip for defying the
country's ban on female drivers.




Saudi women waiting for their drivers outside a shopping
mall in Riyadh



It is the first time a legal punishment has been handed down for a violation
of the longtime ban in the ultra-conservative Muslim nation.

Women drivers are usually stopped and questioned but let go after they pledge
not to drive again.

But dozens of female drivers have continued to take to the roads since June
in a campaign to break the taboo.

Shaima Jastaina, in her 30s, was found guilty of driving without permission.
She has appealed the verdict.

Her sentencing on Tuesday came just two days after King Abdullah promised to
protect women's rights.

Even the Prophet (Muhammad's) wives were riding camels and horses because
these were the only means of transportation.

Rights
activist Sohila Zein el-Abydeen



He declared women could vote, take part in municipal elections in 2015 and
that a woman would be appointed to the all-male advisory body, the Shura
Council.

The mixed signals show the challenges facing the King, who is known as a
reformer, in achieving change without antagonising conservatives and the
clergy.

Activists saw the sentence as a retaliation from the hard-line Saudi
religious establishment that controls the courts and oversees the religious
police.

Sohila Zein el-Abydeen, from the National Society for Human Rights, burst
into tears when asked about the punishment.

"The verdict is shocking to me, but we were expecting this kind of reaction,"
she said.

She added: "How come women get flogged for driving while the maximum penalty
for a traffic violation is a fine, not lashes?

"Even the Prophet (Muhammad's) wives were riding camels and horses because
these were the only means of transportation."



Days ago, King Abdullah announced women would have voting
rights in 2015



Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women - both Saudi
and foreign - from driving.

It is not written in law but stems from conservative traditions and religious
views that believe giving freedom of movement to women makes them vulnerable to
sins.

The prohibition forces families to hire live-in drivers, with those who
cannot afford it having to rely on male relatives for transport.

Asked if the sentencing will stop women from driving, Maha al Qahtani,
another female activist, said, "This is our right, whether they like it or
not."

I suggest that those women, who do not wish to walk around in France with their faces uncovered, try living in Saudi. They may find the strict rules there more to their liking! They might not be able to demonstrate in the streets, but they'll be able to cover themselves entirely!

I'm not condemning anyones beliefs but there's plainly not an ounce of sense in this to a thinking person... Yet we here in the west are considered in their eyes to be the uncultured, uncivilized infidel.

God help us if they ever get a majority in the Commons... Sharia Law in the UK....just what have our leaders inflicted on future generations?

I READ A SAUDI DIPLOMAT IS GOING TO BE CANED 4 TIMES IN SINGAPORE FOR SEXUALLY MOLESTING A HOTEL MAID.

Yes Badboy, you're right. Here's one link.
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/saudi-arabian-diplomat-gets-jail-time-caning-molesting-intern

KING SALMAN HAS DECREEDED THAT WOMEN CAN DRIVE FROM NEXT JUNE.
A SAUDI CLERIC SAID WOMEN BRAINS WILL SHRINK IN SIZE IF THEY DRIVE.