Saudi women warned over Sunday’s drive campaign

The Saudi interior ministry has warned women against their plans to stage a fresh car drive campaign on Sunday, saying it would severely punish those involved.

Ministry spokesman Major General Mansour Al Turku said ht was reacting to reports circulated on social networks that female activists are planning to drive their cars through the Kingdom’s streets to press their demands to end a long-standing ban on driving by women in the conservative Gulf Kingdom.

Female activists have staged several driving campaigns over the past two years to force the government to end the ban and allow them to drive cars on par with men.

In their statement last week, a group of female activists urged all Saudi women to take to the streets by their cars and drive to press their demands on the leadership in the Kingdom, the only country to ban women from driving cars.

“Concerning the recent calls for illegal gatherings by women, the ministry of interior would like to affirm that it will strictly and severely apply the rules against anyone who will take part in such illegal acts that target social cohesion in the country and hurt its stability and security,” he said.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.