中東國家沙特阿拉伯是世界上唯一禁止女性開車的國家，但這個傳統正受到沖擊。日前，一些沙特婦女組成了一個委員會，游說政府給予女性開車權，她們還打算在未來幾天內，就這一問題直接向阿卜杜拉國王請愿。

A woman gets in a taxi in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Sept. 17, 2007. For the first time ever, a group of women in the only country that bans female drivers have formed a committee to lobby for the right to get in the driver's seat. They plan to petition King Abdullah in the next few days for that privilege. [AP]

For the first time, a group of women in the only country that bans female drivers have formed a committee to lobby for the right to get behind the wheel, and they plan to petition King Abdullah in the next few days for the privilege.

The government is unlikely to respond because the issue remains highly sensitive. But committee members said that their petition will at least highlight what many Saudis -- both men and women -- consider a "stolen" right.

"We would like to remind officials that this is, as many have said, a social and not a religious or political issue," said Fowziyyah Oyouni, a founding member of the Committee of Demanders of Women's Right to Drive Cars. "And since it's a social issue, we have the right to lobby for it."

The driving ban applies to all women, Saudi and foreign, and forces families to hire live-in drivers. Women whose families cannot afford US$300-$400 a month for a driver must rely on male relatives to drive them to work, school, shopping or their doctor's office.

The last time the issue was raised was two years ago, when Mohammed Zulfa, a member of the unelected Consultative Council, asked his colleagues to think about studying the possibility of allowing women older than 35 or 40 to drive -- unchaperoned on city streets but accompanied by a male guardian on highways.

The suggestion touched off a fierce controversy that included calls for Zulfa's removal from the council and stripping him of Saudi citizenship, as well as accusations that he was encouraging women to commit the double sins of discarding their veils and mixing with men.

The uproar underscored the divisions in Saudi society between the guardians of its super-strict Islamic codes of behavior and those who want to usher in more liberal attitudes.

Conservatives, who believe women should be shielded from male strangers, say women in the driver's seat will be free to leave home alone and go when and where they please.

They also will unduly expose their eyes while driving and interact with male strangers, such as traffic police and mechanics.

But supporters of female drivers say the prohibition exists neither in law nor Islam, but is based on fatwas, or edicts, by senior clerics who say women at the wheel create situations for sinful temptation.

(Agencies)

Vocabulary:

lobby：游說

get behind the wheel：駕車

petition：請愿

unchaperoned：無年長婦女陪伴的（少女）

touch off：引發，觸發

fatwas：(伊斯蘭教)法學家的裁決

（英語點津 Celene 編輯）