SAUDI ARABIA:Buoyed by recent advances in women's rights, a group of women campaigning for the right to drive in Saudi Arabia - the only country in the world that prohibits female drivers - says it believes the ban will be lifted this year.
The group has collected more than 3,000 signatures in the past five months and is hoping King Abdullah will issue a royal decree before the end of the year giving women the right to drive.
Since taking the throne in 2005, Abdullah has championed women's right to work and often takes official trips overseas with delegations of female journalists and academics. The king has said that he does not oppose allowing women to drive but that society needs to accept the idea first.
"I think the authorities want people to get used to the idea and will lift the ban before the end of the year," said group co-founder Wajeha al-Huwaider (45), an educational analyst.
Huwaider's group sent petitions in September and December to the king asking him to lift the ban, and it is working on a third. "Every time we gather 1,000 signatures we will send them," she said.
Huwaider and co-founder Fouzia al-Ayouni said they are encouraged by the recent easing of certain strictures on women and statements from senior officials saying the driving ban was more social than religious or political.
In November, foreign minister prince Saud al-Faisal told Britain's Channel 4 Newsthat there was no Saudi law prohibiting women from driving.
"Myself, I think they should drive," he said, but added, "for us, it is not a political issue, it is a social issue. We believe that this is something for the families to decide, for the people to decide and not to be forced by the government either to drive or not to drive."
Saudi Arabia follows a strict form of Islamic law that does not allow women self-guardianship, mandating a male guardian for women of all ages. A woman cannot travel, appear in court, marry or work without permission from a male guardian, sometimes her own son.
Until recently women were also barred from checking into hotels and renting apartments unless they were with a male guardian. But a royal decree announced this month now allows women to stay in hotels and furnished apartments unaccompanied.
Al-Watan newspaper reported last week that a circular had been issued to hotels asking them to accept women who show identification. The hotel is then required to register the women's details with the police.
But in this deeply religious and patriarchal society, many believe that allowing women the right to drive could lead to western-style openness and an erosion of traditional values.
Many women complain that driving is a necessity and argue that not everyone can afford to hire foreign drivers, whose salaries range from $300 (€200) to $600 a month, plus room and board. Live-in chauffeurs, often foreigners from the Philippines or the Indian subcontinent, are considered unlikely to develop relationships with the women.