Authorities in Saudi Arabia are in the midst of a new crackdown on female drivers after several women in the conservative Gulf kingdom were caught behind the wheel.
Traffic officials in the Eastern Province city of Al-Qatif said that any females caught driving would be dealt with firmly on the back of three arrests in recent months, Saudi Gazette reported. Sunni Muslim Saudi prohibits women from driving, instead making them rely on private drivers or male guardians.
A spokesman told the newspaper that any woman caught driving would be fined SR900 ($240) and made to sign a legal document that assures authorities they will not do it again.
One case in recent months was that of an unidentified 47-year old woman, traffic cops said, who had filmed herself driving while accompanied by her father and brother. The video, in which she talked about why women should be given the right to drive, was then posted on YouTube.
In 2012, more than 600 women petitioned Saudi’s King Abdullah to allow women to drive in the country, a year after a group of women’s-rights activists launched the Women2Drive campaign.
Prominent figures such as Princess Ameerah Al Taweel have also spoken in support of women lobbying to overturn the driving ban.
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