Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Saudi Arabia Agrees to Let Women Drive

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 225 posts

Re: Saudi Arabia Agrees to Let Women Drive

#51

Post by rconti »

ericfrenkiel wrote: post #43

::slow clap:: It is absolutely appalling that this type of backwardness is still a reality in the 21st century. The faster we can transition to clean, renewable energy, the better for everyone in the world.

My favorite example is the South Carolina law that was finally rescinded a few years back, where bars had to serve their mixed alcoholic drinks with liquor poured from single-serving 'airline' style bottles. A colossal waste of time and resources, but the kicker was the arguments against rescinding the law-- some folks arguing that DUI rates would go through the roof and The Children (TM) would all die, and others arguing that bartenders would rip off patrons with 'short pours'.

All without a single thought to stop and consider the example of the other 49 states, not to mention other countries...

Re: Saudi Arabia Agrees to Let Women Drive

#53

Post by tyingq »

kogepathic wrote: post #13
pmoriarty wrote: post #7

But do they have to be accompanied on that drive by a male relative?

It's not mentioned anywhere in the article that a male relative is required to be in the car. Also, it sounds like their police will need some training to interact with female drivers, as by my understanding Saudi women don't normally interact with people who aren't family members. The police will need to be trained to interact with women in a way that they rarely do in a society where men and women who are not relat…

I suppose that women driving alone would also extend new interactions with gas stations, shops, etc. Perhaps that won't open up all at once, but this does seem to open more than one door.

Re: Saudi Arabia Agrees to Let Women Drive

#54

Post by agumonkey »

ma1313 wrote: post #38
agumonkey wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

is it the first time or, like lebannon or iran, there was a time when women could drive before ?

First time in Saudi. Women were never banned from driving in Lebanon, not sure about Iran, but I don't think so

Sorry I didn't mean driving per se, but in the 70s women had more freedom and it regressed since.

Re: Saudi Arabia Agrees to Let Women Drive

#56

Post by ghostbrainalpha »

drcode wrote: post #29
pmoriarty wrote: post #7

But do they have to be accompanied on that drive by a male relative?

It's pretty messed up how this mirrors similar questions that come up when discussing autonomous vehicles- While we in the West try to come to grips with the agency of computer systems, other places are still trying to come to grips with agency for adult humans.

It's crazy to think that women will only have been driving in Saudi Arabia for at most 20 years before the autonomous vehicles are required and no one drives anymore.

Re: Saudi Arabia Agrees to Let Women Drive

#57

Post by kogepathic »

tyingq wrote: post #53
kogepathic wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not mentioned anywhere in the article that a male relative is required to be in the car. Also, it sounds like their police will need some training to interact with female drivers, as by my understanding Saudi women don't normally interact with people who aren't family members. The police will need to be trained to interact with women in a way that they rarely do in a society where men and women who are not relat…

I suppose that women driving alone would also extend new interactions with gas stations, shops, etc. Perhaps that won't open up all at once, but this does seem to open more than one door.

> I suppose that women driving alone would also extend new interactions with gas stations, shops, etc.

It could work out quite well for them if they're open to hiring women to work in businesses that support female drivers. e.g. female driving instructors, female gas station attendants, etc.

Low oil prices have limited the government jobs that many Saudis have long relied on, and the kingdom is trying to push more citizens, including women, into gainful employment.

Re: Saudi Arabia Agrees to Let Women Drive

#60

Post by Osmium »

dang wrote: post #47
justboxing wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, didn't mean to offend you. My apologies.

Not at all, you're so far from having offended me that I'm sorry for having left you with that impression! But we can see from this subthread how quickly these comments grow like weeds and choke out more thoughtful conversation. It's not the starting comment itself, but what it precipitates, that we all need to guard against.

Obviously a judgement call, but I thought there were some useful comments in reply to the OP (e.g. fmihaila's comment).

While the OP's comment was unsubstantive, it highlighted an interesting quotation from the article to discuss, that a lot of people had opinions on and also wanted to discuss. Maybe the only appropriate response to a quotation like that is ridicule, which serves an important purpose in its own right.

I do appreciate this is a very difficult topic to moderate however(!) To be honest, I'm surprised the article itself was even allowed on HN and wasn't flagged for being too political.

Post reply on HN