Alwaleed bin Talal, an influential prince and massively wealthy investor in Saudi Arabia, has called for the country to lift its ban on women driving cars, the BBC reports. Saudi Arabia is the only country where women cannot drive, and women’s rights activists have been arrested for defying the ban, which has been protested for 20 years. Prince Alwaleed says it is a matter of women’s rights, as well as economic necessity, to lift the ban.
Although the prince doesn’t hold a political position in Saudi Arabia, he is a chairman of the Kingdom Holding Company, which is one of the largest foreign investors in the U.S. and owns stakes in Citigroup and Euro Disney, according to the BBC. He’s an outspoken member of the Saudi royal family, which has criticized the restrictions in the past. He is also one of the wealthiest individuals in the world.
It’s not technically illegal for women to drive, but only men are given licenses. Prince Alwaleed published a four-page statement condemning the ban on his website, saying, "Preventing a woman from driving a car is today an issue of rights similar to the one that forbade her from receiving an education or having an independent identity.” It is also incredibly expensive for the country, he said. Saudi Arabia has poor public transportation, so families have to hire expensive drivers so women can get where they need to go. He estimates that each family spends the equivalent of about $1,000 month on drivers, many of which are foreigners.
"Retaining foreign drivers not only has the effect of reducing a family's disposable income... but also contributes to the siphoning of billions of riyals every year from the Saudi economy to foreign destinations in the form of remittances," the Prince added.
More than anything, we agree with this statement from Prince Alwaleed: "Such a ban on driving is fundamentally an infringement on a woman's rights, particularly as it continues to exist after she had won her right to an education and a salaried employment." Preach!