Snark Attack!: Saudi Women Ready for the Challenge

Snark: to annoy or irritate

"Snark" has been in English language dictionaries since at least 1906, and Lewis Carroll used the word to describe a mythological animal in his poem, The Hunting of the Snark (1874). Most recently, the word has come to characterize snappish, sarcastic, or mean-spirited comments or actions directed at those who annoy or irritate us.

At first, this blog was just going be a place to gripe, but because it's more satisfying to take action than it is to merely complain, now most of the posts/reposts suggest ways to get involved in solving problems.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Saudi Women Ready for the Challenge

This is a message from Feminist Majority. And please, spare us the inane comments about women drivers.

This Friday, June 17, women in Saudi Arabia will risk arrest by doing something you and I probably do every day: driving their own car.
Help them win the right to go wherever they choose, on their own, by emailing key Saudi and US decision makers now.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a long history of female oppression. Saudi women cannot vote. They cannot leave the country without the approval of a male guardian. Less than 15 percent of the kingdom's workforce is female. In the neighboring United Arab Emirates, by comparison, women make up more than half of the labor force.
Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive.
Tell the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. that limiting women's mobility is a human rights violation.
When IT security consultant Manal Al Sharif posted a YouTube video of herself behind the wheel last month, her punishment came swiftly. She was arrested and held for five days. Her detention was later extended by another four days for "further investigation" – even though her five-year-old child was in the hospital, and even though police had all the evidence they could have wanted: not only did the video show Al Sharif driving, but it showed her explaining why she was breaking the driving ban!
Make sure Manal Al Sharif didn't go to jail in vain. Stand up for Saudi women by sending a message to Saudi and US key decision makers now.
The Women2Drive movement is organizing the June 17 act of civil disobedience. Stay up to date by following Women2Drive on Facebook and Twitter.

Please join us in showing that the whole world will be watching when Saudi women exercise their right to drive.

For equality and justice,

Eleanor Smeal
President

P.S. Here are some more ways to support Women2Drive:
*Take a video of yourself behind the wheel (safely, of course) and honk to show your support for Saudi women! Send your video to honkforsaudiwomen@gmail.com. The videos are posted to their YouTube channel athttp://www.youtube.com/user/HonkforSaudiWomen.

*Attend the Washington, DC Women's Drive to Drive Rally at the Saudi Embassy in onWednesday. Location: Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
601 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037Time: ‎12:00-4:00 PM Wednesday, June 15th