Lift the Ban on Women Driving

Lift the Ban on Women Driving
Why this petition matters

This is a grassroots campaign with the participation of both female and male citizens. Due to the widespread debate in recent years on the subject of women driving cars, we have decided to express our position on this matter, where we demand the following:
1- In the midst of these regional and international developments and what is going on in the modern world of innovations in the various fields of economy, society and culture, we as part of this total sum of humanity declare our ambition to develop and change for the betterment of ourselves and our homeland. As we find no clear justification for the government to ban adult female citizens who are able to drive a car from doing so, we call for the need to provide appropriate means to conduct driving tests for female citizens who want to be issued permits and that the government issue licenses for those women who do pass the driving test. And if female citizens do not pass the driving test then a driving license should not be issued to them, so that they are equal to men in this regard. Hence the ability to drive will be the only standard, regardless of the gender of the citizen.
2- Especially since the issue of women driving has moved on beyond the superficiality of a societal debate. The issue is not that of simply a vehicle driven by a woman, but the acknowledgement and recognition of the humanity of half of society and the God-given rights of women. Since there is no single Islamic text or jurisprudential edict that prohibits women driving, and that current justification for any reluctance stems from traditions and customs that have no relation to religion. Therefore, we believe that the issue can only be solved by firm governmental action to implement the demands in the first item of this petition.
3- Deferring women driving to a societal consensus only increases division and is not reasonable nor logical to force people to unanimously agree before lifting the ban. We are a society like others in that we are comprised of different views, especially in issues that are not explicitly prohibited by an Islamic text.
4- If the state refuses to lift the current ban on women driving, we demand that it provides citizens justification for its refusal, and not to transfer responsibility for such a decision to a societal consensus as an alternative justification.
5- In the event that the government does not lift the ban on women driving, and does not provide justification for its continued refusal, we demand that it provides a mechanism to enable “society” to express what they want. We do not demand this as a means of adopting a particular ideology or importing values from abroad. But we ask for this because we cannot find any justification for the government's opposition to women driving their cars. The state is not a parent and citizens are not children or minors.