Saudi woman sues interior ministry over driving ban

A female Saudi activist has become the third woman this year to sue the interior ministry over the infamous driving ban which prohibits women from driving in the Kingdom.

Nassima al-Sadah told AFP "I filed the lawsuit against the traffic department of the interior ministry at the Dammam court" after repeatedly trying without success to apply for a driving licence. Earlier this year two other female activists, Samar Badawi and Manal al-Sharif also filed suit. Al-Sharif came to international notice when she spearheaded a campaign encouraging women to defy the driving ban and take to the wheel. She has been arrested by the religious police for flouting the ban, and famously posted a video of herself driving in the desert Kingdom. Al-Sharif has also petitioned King Abdulla to lift the driving ban. In spite of King Abdullah introducing some reforms in Saudi Arabia, including giving women the right to vote, there remains strong opposition in the conservative Kingdom to women driving. It remains the only country in the world where women are denied the right to drive.