It has been just a year since women were allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia. A reform or an illusion? It has also been a year since women’s rights activists were put into prison, accused of being “treacherous to the nation”.

These are small bits of daily life of Saudi women, gleaned on Twitter and quite moving, in fact. All these driving license photos of women driving or learning to drive in the recent days have circulated on the social media. Previously, driving for Saudi women seemed almost impossible.

On June 24, 2018, Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, also known as MbS, effectively ended the ban on women driving in the country. Before the last year, Saudi Arabia was the last country in the world to enforce such a ban. Announced by decree in September 2017, this measure was part of “Vision 2030”, the famous project of modernization of the country, envisioned by MbS, who likes to present himself as the prince reformer.

At that time, the news had of course provoked controversy, as some were enthusiastic about this reform towards women’s rights, while orthodox religious preachers denounced the decadence of morals. Yet, the world wondered if this so called reform was a withered tree hiding in the forest.

Clarence Rodriguez, a French accredited journalist in Saudi Arabia, explains that the real reform would be the abolition of male guardianship.

Indeed, Saudi women are all their life under the guardianship of their father or brother, and after their marriage, their spouse they are dependent on the spouse for even the minutest of decisions.

In short, men decide their daily routine, in all aspects, be it their marriage, education, travel or even to make a passport. In other words, even if they theoretically have the right to drive, if their father or their husband opposes it, it is impossible.

Moreover, the women activists who fought for the abolition of male guardianship and lift of driving ban are even today behind the bars. These superficial reforms are just for the world to see.

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