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Saudi Women's Driving School (2019)
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG:
I remember arriving here and seeing Lady Liberty. She represents everything that has to be protected. MAN: A present from the French people to the American people. WOMAN: Give me your tired... MAN 2: We all have an immigration story. WOMAN 2: She's being used all the time for protests. WOMAN: Your huddled masses... MAN 3: People from all over the world are coming here, and they want to see her. (distant vehicles honking) Woman: Without freedom, you can't feel like you're a human being. You will feel like you're a thing, you are not a person. The Ministry of the Interior would like to announce to all citizens and residents that all women are absolutely prohibited from driving cars in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It added, any woman who violates this regulation will be penalized. (honks horn) Newsman: Saudi women staged an unprecedented demonstration to demand the right to drive cars, like women in every other Arab country. (women speaking English) (speaking Arabic) Hear this: Saudi Arabia has just announced it will allow women to drive cars. Newsman 2: Saudi Arabia was the only country to have a ban on women driving. The change will take effect in June of next year. Newswoman: At least ten women's rights activists were arrested. Some were released, others branded as traitors in pro-government papers. (cameras clicking) (man speaking Arabic) (cheering, laughing) (clapping) (cheering, whistling) Today, I'm an independent person. -(whistling) -(horns beep) (woman speaking Arabic) (indistinct chatter) (woman speaking Arabic) (indistinct chatter) Oh! I like it. (speaking Arabic) (woman speaking Arabic) (speaking Arabic) (woman speaking Arabic) (speaking Arabic) (speaking Arabic) (woman speaking in Arabic) (Amal-al-Jaber speaking Arabic) (nearby horn beeps) (speaking Arabic) (Amal speaking Arabic) (gear selector clicks) (Raed speaking Arabic) (Mohammed speaking Arabic) (Muhammad speaking Arabic) (Amal speaking Arabic) (honks) (squawks) Mm... (laughs) (man reciting the Koran over PA) Woman: In Saudi Arabia in the past, the restriction on women were extremely difficult. (indistinct chattering) Men and women cannot be in the same office. Wherever there is a chance that a man and a woman can mix in an office, that sector was not a place for women to join. They cannot be treated in the same hospital surgery. They cannot go to the same university. They cannot go to the same school. Even for entertainment. If they want to go to a restaurant, usually there is a curtain separating the men and the women. But all these kind of segregated spaces are now collapsing. Women can now go to football matches, they can go to concerts, and now we see that Saudi women are allowed to enter public spaces where men work or are present. During the economic wealth associated with oil, there wasn't a great pressure on women to go out of their way and seek jobs. However, as these economic resources begin to dwindle, and we are living in the post-oil economy, now it has become important for women to actually get jobs. (honking) (Shahad speaking Arabic) Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy. The king is the supreme leader. He can decide on everything... (speaking Arabic) Madawi: ...from the status of women to foreign relations. (speaking Arabic) Madawi: The red line is always going to be crossed if someone mentions the king or the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, in a negative way. Citizens do not have freedom of speech. Eman: We got kids with us. We've got a very safe, capable driver behind the wheel. Just stay cool. (Aziza speaking Arabic) (man speaking Arabic) (Loujain laughs) (man speaks Arabic) Many people are confused, inside Saudi Arabia and outside it, about why we have an openness unprecedented in the history of the country, but at the same time, there is this sort of repression that is taking place across the board. And many people ask the question why this is happening. And the answer to this question is that this is an absolute monarchy that does not want to give credit to anybody, apart from itself, when it comes to social, economic, and political change. (Shahad speaking Arabic) (camel bellowing) (race cars buzzing) (engine revs) (woman speaking English) Amjad: I started driving when I was 13 years old. I really wanted to take myself and my family around. Uh, and I told my mom the idea and she liked it and she was supporting. I was disguising as a young boy. Uh, when I hide my hair, I look like a guy, so it was really easy for me. I was so afraid. I used to scream a lot because of Amjad, and she was driving so... so bad. But after that, I used to, uh... they used me as a-- -you know the-- -The reverse sensor. -The reverse sensor. So, I look out the back... -(laughing) -...and I make sure no cars... -There's no cars there. -She's like okay, "You can go, you can pass." -Fadia: You can go, come on. (race car engines buzzing) Amjad: I started racing, actually, after I joined Formula Student team in my university. I wanted to be the driver so bad because they were underestimating all females in the team. They were only looking for males to be drivers, so I wanted to prove them wrong. (chattering in Arabic) I really like competitions, especially if it's, uh, if it's include beating guys. (laughs) (engine revving) (tires screech) (woman speaking Arabic) Oprah: Actually, it's very scary. There is black smoke right there because the yellow car, it is on fire. The driver got out of the car, thank God, and now the recovery team are in working, and he's safe. (indistinct chatter) Every time I see an accident like this, I... I realize how dangerous this sport is. But my sister is brave. She know what she is doing, and I trust her. (speaking Arabic) (birds chirping) (Sarah's mother speaking Arabic) (timer beeps) (Sarah speaking Arabic) (speaks Arabic) (Sarah speaks) (horn honks) (speaks Arabic) (both laughing) (gear selector clicks) (patrons chattering) (speaking Arabic) (indistinct chattering) (horns honk) -(man speaks) -(Shahad speaks) Shahad: Okay. Okay. (speaking Arabic) The right to drive is important for working women and for all women who choose to drive. But it is not enough to think that the ambition of Saudi women will stop at the wheel. The Guardianship system is one of the critical restrictions that women face in Saudi Arabia. It is a mix of social and cultural values and a set of religious interpretations specific to Saudi Arabia that give women less power than men when it comes to deciding on important issues in their life. (horns honking) The Guardianship system dictates that women are minors even if they are adults. Usually, when a father dies, the Guardian becomes the brother. If a woman gets married, then the husband is her Guardian. If she's divorced or the husband dies, then her son becomes her Guardian. (man speaking Arabic) (Fahad speaking Arabic) (race car buzzing) (indistinct chattering) (laughs) Mm. Mm-hmm. (speaking Arabic) (horn beeps) (revving) (race car buzzing) Amjad: I'm fascinated by speed and I really enjoy beating people. (engine roaring) I have big ambitions. I'm really... dreaming of winning a world championship. (engine roaring) It's really crazy, but I believe that's gonna happen one day. I believe it's possible because... everything we thought it was impossible, it's actually happened, so why not? (engine roaring) -Man 1: Which one? The white one? The white? -Man 2: Step back! Woman: Okay. Steward: He said we can't film this. She's fine, thank, uh, thank God. She's fine. (indistinct chattering) Amjad: What happened, it was snap oversteer, it happens with every driver, and for me, this was a lesson. It's really an interesting experience because now I learned how to overcome such accidents and problems in the future. -(audience applauding) -(drone buzzing) (speaking Arabic) (cheering, applauding) (applause continuing) Amjad: When I win, I feel really great. A girl in the podium is-- was my dream, actually. I feel so powerful. I feel great. I feel like... it's really happening. I'm in the future. (laughs) (camera clicks) I think me and... everyone in Saudi Arabia is so optimistic uh, because we're all sensing all the changes. Saudi women are creative. Saudi women are doing very great jobs, and they are now doctors, they are scientists, they're... They are many huge things. We're going forward. We're improving. Uh... (clears throat) The thing is, I don't want to show uh, that everything is fine -when it's not fine. -Because we have many problems-- But we don't want to show the problems and... Negative... Uh, we don't want to be very dreamy about the situation here in Saudi Arabia, but we want to be realistic. We have a different culture from... uh, from all the countries. There are some females who can't do whatever they want to do because of their families. The problem now is with the, uh, strict families or close-minded families. -(indistinct chattering) -(cameras clicking) Newswoman: Rahaf, how does it feel to be in Canada? A young Saudi woman is on Canadian soil after being granted asylum in that country. The 18-year-old arriving in Toronto... (cameras clicking) Okay, I'll go give the flowers to Rahaf! Okay, so everyone, this Rahaf al-Qunun, a very brave new Canadian. I was not treated respectfully by my family, and I was not allowed to be myself and who I want to be. As you know, in Saudi Arabia, this is the case for all Saudi women, except for those that are fortunate enough to have understanding parents. The Saudis denied they had tried to force the teen to return home. Her case is the latest to highlight Saudi Arabia's strict Guardianship laws that force women to have a male relative's consent to travel or marry. (speaking Arabic) (horn beeps) (chattering in Arabic) Madawi: The driving ban became a symbol. It was not the only right that Saudi women wanted. (speaking Arabic) Madawi: It's extremely difficult to be an activist in Saudi Arabia and escape imprisonment. (Aziza speaking Arabic) Madawi: For the first time, the Saudi official press published their photos with the word "traitors." The public prosecutor said that their charges are related to national security. Their charges are related to working with foreign governments. Their charges are related to working with people who seek to undermine the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (speaking Arabic) Shahad: Ah, okay. Mm-hmm. (Tariq speaking Arabic) (man speaking Arabic) (man reciting Koran over PA) (horn honks) (indistinct announcement over PA) (Sarah speaking Arabic) Examiner: Okay? Okay. (speaks Arabic) Examiner: They all say I'm a strict examiner, but I always imagine the lady with her kids or with her mom. And if I feel she's gonna be safe on the road, so that's cool. If not, I feel no. She have to, you know, train. You know, it's dangerous. That's why they call me a strict examiner. (speaking Arabic) (murmurs) (turn signal clicking) (gear selector clicking) Examiner: Okay. (alarm beeping) Oh. -(clicks) -Okay. (speaks Arabic) (signal clicking) (signal clicking) (signal clicking) (gear selector clicks) (speaks Arabic) (laughing) Okay, bravo. (speaks Arabic) (laughs) -(indistinct chattering) -(line rings) (birds chirping) (signal clicking) (Sarah speaking Arabic) Amjad: I think that in a few years, Saudi females will be as strong as... what they want to be. We're looking for more changes. It would be really amazing if all females in Saudi Arabia, despite the mentality of their families, have their own rights of deciding their way of living. Fadia: Whatever happened to Saudi women before, we believe that we are the new generation. We believe that nothing can hold us back, and we will do it as long as we believe in ourselves. (honks) (speaking Arabic) (honks) |
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