Why Aren’t More Saudi Women Driving?
This time last year, we were all jumping for joy because the women of Saudi Arabia could finally drive legally. According to reports from local media like The Saudi Gazette, about 70,000 women have earned their licenses since then. With a total population of about 34 million people, that figure seems fairly small. What is keeping them off of the roads?
Driving Independence: Check out why you should consider certified pre-owned cars
YouGov, a global public opinion company that conducts online surveys, polled about 400 Saudi women who don’t hold drivers licenses to learn more about their reasoning. The most popular answer sitting at 35 percent is because they don’t know how to drive. From there, the most popular answers rounding out the top five were fear of accidents, no confidence in themselves behind the wheel, a family member wouldn’t let them, and the catch-all other.
While it’s discouraging to see forbidding family members so high on the list of responses, it’s not all doom and gloom. YouGov ran the same survey in August of last year, and 23 percent of respondents said that a husband or other figure prevented them from getting their license. In the 2019 sample, that number fell to 16 percent. Other discouraging answers in the survey, like potential harassment from male drivers and worry about being judged for driving, also fell from 2018 to 2019.
When women could first apply to drivers licenses in mid-2018, the women first in line were usually trained behind the wheel outside Saudi Arabia thanks to the limited availability of instructors and schools. As female drivers gain acceptance behind the wheel, more schools have opened up to train the next wave of applicants, including a new center at Qassim University.
A Different Desert: Check out Nissan’s Star Wars partnership
The situation for female drivers is far from perfect in Saudi Arabia, but there is definite progress in the right direction. Hopefully, more women will find the courage this year to slide behind the wheel and take control.
News Source: Saudi Gazette and YouGov
The News Wheel is a digital auto magazine providing readers with a fresh perspective on the latest car news. We’re located in the heart of America (Dayton, Ohio) and our goal is to deliver an entertaining and informative perspective on what’s trending in the automotive world. See more articles from The News Wheel.