Women who want the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to lift a de facto ban that prohibits them from driving have launched an online campaign urging Saudi females to stage a demonstration by driving cars on October 26 . `` There is no justification for the Saudi government to prohibit adult women citizens who are capable of driving cars from doing so , '' reads part of an online petition on the Oct26driving.com website . Since Saturday , it has garnered close to 11,000 signatures . No traffic law specifically prohibits females from driving in Saudi Arabia , but religious edicts there are often interpreted to mean women are not allowed to operate a vehicle . One of the first to sign the petition was Mai al-Swayan , an economic researcher who told CNN she definitely plans to drive that day . `` I will simply use my car to drive to my normal destination ... driving the kids to the mall or family visits , or even grocery shopping . '' Al-Swayan , a Saudi woman who drove a car when she lived in the United States , said she sees no reason why she should n't be able to drive in her home country as well . `` I am a capable woman , '' she explained , `` and this ban is a clear violation of my rights . '' The issue of women driving in the conservative kingdom has long been a contentious one . And while such demonstrations are extremely rare , they have been staged at least twice before . In May 2011 , prominent Saudi women 's rights activist Manal al-Sharif was arrested after uploading a video to YouTube that showed her driving in Saudi Arabia . She spent more than a week in jail and quickly became a hero to numerous women in her country and across the Middle East . It was a sign of just how influential she had grown that on June 17 , 2011 , dozens of women across Saudi Arabia , emboldened and inspired by al-Sharif 's ordeal , participated in the `` Women2Drive '' campaign by getting behind the wheel , defying the ban , and driving throughout the streets of their cities . In 1991 , a group of 47 women protested the prohibition by driving through the country 's capital city , Riyadh . After being arrested , many were further punished by being banned from travel and suspended from their workplaces . A video posted on the October 26 Movement website shows Lujaina al-Hathloul , a Saudi student in Canada , referencing the two previous incidents as she implores her countrywomen to take to the streets . `` If you did n't get the chance to participate in 1991 or 2011 , here 's your new chance -- on October 26 , 2013 , '' al-Hathloul said in her video . `` I hope that a huge number of girls take part this time . '' In addition to prohibiting driving , the country 's strict and compulsory guardianship system also prevents women from opening bank accounts , working , traveling and going to school without the express permission of their male guardian . Saudi Arabia has been moving toward change under its current ruler , King Abdullah , who is considered a cautious reformer and proponent of women 's rights . In January , he appointed 30 women to the Shura Council , the first time women had been chosen for the country 's top consultative body . In 2011 , he announced that women can run for office and vote in local elections in 2015 , and in 2009 , he appointed Saudi Arabia 's first female deputy minister . All the steps were hailed as significant , but many female rights activists say progress still has n't come fast enough . The new petition asks the Saudi government to present `` to the citizens a valid and legal justification '' for the ban , demanding authorities should not simply blame it on `` societal consensus . '' Al-Swayan hopes the demonstration will works this time and that Saudi women will finally gain the right to drive . If it does n't , she said , she wo n't give up . `` I wo n't stop demanding that right over and over again , '' she said .
Saudi women reassert their demand for the right to drive . Women are being urged to drive cars on October 26 to support that demand . Score: 6