Saudi Police Arrest Woman for Driving Her Sick Father to the Hospital

A Kuwaiti woman was arrested for driving her sick father to the hospital in an area just over the border in Saudi Arabia, a country in which women are prohibited from operating motor vehicles.

The woman told police that her father, who was sitting in the passenger seat, suffers from diabetes, could not drive and was in need of urgent treatment, the Kuwait Times reported, citing a police report.

The woman remains in custody as police continue their investigation.

More than a dozen women were detained last week in Saudi Arabia after getting behind the wheel in order to lodge a protest against the female driving ban. The Kuwait Times report did not suggest that the unnamed Kuwaiti woman was involved in that effort when she was operating the car.

A Saudi woman seen driving in Riyadh on Oct. 26 as part of the one-day protest called the October 26 Driving Campaign (AP)

Saudi police in the border town of al-Khafji and local traffic police did not comment to Reuters.

“Kuwaiti women are free to drive in their country and enjoy far more rights than those in Saudi Arabia, who are not allowed to travel abroad, open a bank account or work without permission from a male relative,” Reuters reported.

Besides the reported 60 woman who took part in the driving protest last week, the Kuwait Times said “a growing number of men are quietly helping steer the campaign, risking their jobs and social condemnation in the conservative kingdom.”

“Some of the men have even been questioned by authorities, and one was detained by a branch of the Saudi Interior Ministry – a move that sent a chill through some of the activists working to put women behind the wheel,” the Times reported.

In honor of the driving protest last week, a Saudi performer produced a video that went viral on YouTube, a rewrite of the Bob Marley classic “No Woman, No Cry” using the words, “No Woman, No Drive.” The video racked up more than 9.5 million views in one week.

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