SAUDI ARABIA

SOCIAL NETWORKING AND THE WOMEN WHO ARENT ALLOWED TO DRIVE CARS

Saudi Arabian Strategic Internet Consultancy (SASIc) Rad Fatani www.SASIconsult.com

Simmering change
What could have been the Saudi Arabian revolution continues to simmer. Dissidents and reformists have found a use for new media. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and online forums have become the new medium through which an agenda for change is being formulated. The ease in reaching the masses in relative freedom and anonymity afforded by digital media has bolstered the willingness for open discussion, largely free from fear of persecution. The Saudi Arabian government was quick to realise the risk posed by such open and unchecked discussions, and proceeded to publish new regulatory restrictions for digital media, including blogs. The new rules, effective since January 2011, encourage all users to register ofcially with the government, and strictly prohibit criticism of Islam and all statements thought to compromise public order. The new legislation sparked an outburst of criticism online. A petition was signed by over 6,000 Saudi Arabian citizens and sent to King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz requesting the implementation of a constitutional monarchy. While the petition received no direct response from the King, the act of deance catalysed a move to push for economic, social and political changes in Saudi Arabia. In late June 2011, a draft was leaked of a new anti-terrorism law that would allow the authorities to prosecute peaceful dissent as a terrorist crime, in partial response to the online demonstrations. This law, if enacted, would allow extended detention without charge or trial.1 On 18 March 2011 King Abdullah commended Saudi Arabians for their loyalty in the wake of the weeks of unrest, before issuing eighteen royal decrees stipulating the introduction of a national minimum wage and unemployment benets. The nation has maintained its highly conservative attitude throughout the uprisings in North Africa. As a consequence of a new decree designed to further control religious dialogue, the government has pointedly issued ofcial warnings, and ordered the closure of numerous websites and satellite television shows. The aim is to subvert the inuence of fatwas2 issued by clerics not sponsored by the state.
1 2 Questioning the integrity of the King or the Crown Prince would carry a minimum prison sentence of ten years under this new act. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatw%C4%81

Introduction
In November 2010 a revolution began in the federal state of Tunisia. Revolutionary fervour soon spread throughout the Arab world, as political uprisings were ignited by a hope to emulate Tunisians newly found freedom from oppression. The reign of tyrannical regimes, synonymous with the Arab world, was to be challenged. Perhaps surprisingly, the catalyst for this change was neither a political gure, nor an army of soldiers, but ordinary citizens armed with a new instrument of power: the internet, and Web 2.0. In the midst of these developments, the western region of Saudi Arabia (in particular, Jeddah) suffered major oods, leading to widespread devastation and the loss of many lives. Victims of these tragic events blamed the government. They claimed that corruption within both government and private industry exacerbated the scale of the devastation. Substantial funding for drainage infrastructure in the region had been set aside in 2009, but the planned projects did not materialise. In response to the catastrophic events that unfolded, the authorities in Jeddah said they did not have the capacity to prevent the oods, or to properly help those affected. These sorts of incidents, combined with a high unemployment rate, created discontent amongst the public. The revolutionary contagion in North Africa looked certain to spread to Saudi Arabia. Some 40% of the population is under fourteen years of age, and unemployment hovers at persistently high levels. Consequently, the country did not escape radical protest, and political demands could not be circumvented. Ultimately, however, the revolutionary fever never quite gathered the momentum needed to seriously endanger the political landscape. During March 2011, an anonymous group called for a public protest to voice opposition to the political regime. In response, the Saudi Arabian authorities clamped down, violating the rights to freedom of expression.

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Extremists online
The growing presence, relevance and consequence of digital media and social networking have been further recognised within religious power circles. In an attempt to pre-empt further uprisings in response to censorship, Saudi Arabian clerics looked to use social media as a medium for inuence and coercion. Sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have been used, attracting thousands of fans, dousing the re of revolution. The active and dynamic use of Twitter has been utilised to disseminate the perspective of a conservative Saudi majority and religious scholars, in this case with reference to the permissibility of women driving cars. Egotistical and extreme religiousorthodox scholars such as Al-Ahmad maintain their own Facebook fan pages and use their online presence to revile any call for open discussion on reforming the role of female rights in the country. Nevertheless, internet-based initiatives continue to serve as a useful instrument for political pressure. A simple campaign was created, calling for the human rights of Saudi Arabian women to be upheld. As a result, 17 June 2011 saw more than 29 Saudi Arabian women drive their cars in protest against the kingdoms de facto ban on female driving.

The story of Manal al-Sharif

Women in Saudi Arabia have had limited freedom of movement for a long time. In practice they are not allowed to drive motor vehicles (period), nor are they allowed to leave Saudi Arabia without consent from their male guardian and in some cases, a womans son is her guardian. In 1990, 47 brave Saudi Arabian women from Riyadhs intelligentsia were arrested, dismissed from their jobs, and banned from travelling after staging a deant protest. Disgust at the unwritten law of convention prohibiting women from driving was carefully surfaced publicly as the women drove in a convoy of fourteen cars into the capital. Despite the consequences for the women in 1990, deance was rekindled in the wake of the Arab world revolutionary uprisings in 2011. This time, the protest had global reach, as images and videos of women driving through Saudi Arabia were posted on Facebook and Twitter. One of these women, Wajeha al-Huwaider, cofounded the Association for the Protection and Defense of Womens Rights in Saudi Arabia in 2007 with Fawzia al-Uyouni, another womens rights activist. Together they created a petition that was signed by 1,100 Saudis and sent to King Abdullah asking for

women to be allowed to drive. The petition was not ofcially responded to, yet Huwaider did not waver. On International Womens Day 2008, she lmed herself driving and received international media attention after the video was posted on YouTube. Yet again, the Saudi government did not react. In 2011, inspired by the Arab Spring, a group of Saudi activists started a campaign on Facebook called Teach me how to drive so I can protect myself ,3 as well as under the hash tag #Women2Drive4 on Twitter, in an attempt to raise the issue publicly once more. In a matter of days, over 12,000 signatories showed their support on the Facebook campaign page. One of the founders of the page, Manal al-Sharif, drove her car in Khobar, one of the prominent cities in the Eastern Province, with Huwaider lming the protest. She posted the video on YouTube and Facebook, saying in the video: This is a volunteer campaign to help the girls of this country [learn to drive]. At least for times of emergency, God forbid. What if whoever is driving them has a heart attack? She had also invited all women in Saudi Arabia to start driving on 17 June. After posting the video, she was detained by the religious police on 21 May, and released six hours later. Two days later, around 600,000 people had watched the video. The response this campaign had created worried the authorities and they arrested her again on 22 May, causing international news agencies to focus the worlds attention on the issue. Her lawyer Adnan al-Saleh said that she was charged with inciting women to drive and rallying public opinion. In reaction to al-Sharifs arrest, several Saudi women published videos of themselves driving over the next few days. In response, the authorities stated that al-Sharif would remain in detention until 5 June 2011, according to lawyer Waleed Aboul Khair. Different news organisations attributed the long duration of al-Sharifs detention to the Saudi authorities fear of protest movements in Saudi Arabia generally. The National, a government-owned English-language daily newspaper published in Abu Dhabi, said al-Sharif had written a letter to King Abdullah and that 4,500 Saudis had signed an online petition to the King. The article described an outpouring of indignation and disbelief by both Saudis and critics abroad that Ms al-Sharif was jailed for something that is not a moral or criminal offence.5
3 4 5 www.facebook.com/pages/Teach-me-how-to-drive-so-I-canprotect-myself/132205866854879 See Twitter hashtag #Women2Drive for photos, videos, and commentary. www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/middle-east/saudi-womandriver-released-from-jail-after-nine-days

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On 30 May al-Sharif was freed, under conditions that included bail, returning for questioning if requested, not talking to the media and not driving.

Thoughts towards action steps

This discussion represents only a small part of a complex and evolving debate over the role of virtual and civil freedoms in Saudi Arabia. At the same time, online censorship reects draconian laws in the offline world. The fact that Manal al-Sharifs campaign was kept alive by her supporters online, even after it was deleted from various social media channels, shows the dramatic impact social media have in Saudi society. As seen in previous cases, todays socially engaged audience likes to discuss things; and once an incident goes viral, there is not much government censorship can do in terms of controlling what follows. Uploading al-Sharifs video on YouTube empowered her cause in a smart way that enabled the message to impact on internet users directly. Although the 17 June movement saw several women drive around the country, it will be interesting to see how much additional support and attention the #Women2Drive social media movement will draw in the coming months. According to raw data, the male population, especially on Twitter, has been very active in discussions on the issue. However, as the campaign continues to gather support, more and more women tweet about their successful driving experiences in Saudi Arabia. As the momentum continues to build, we can expect to see an increase in the number of women using social media to make their voices heard. The Saudi social media scene has been exceptionally active in the last few months following the Arab Spring. This has created an anti-autocratic movement amongst the Saudi youth to voice their concerns, knowing that the Saudi government can do little to censor dialogue. While the government needs to introduce laws on privacy and individual rights, online as well as ofine, young activists all over the kingdom are engaging in dialogue with the Saudi youth through social media and people are becoming more aware of the political and social changes in the region. We have yet to reach the peak of the social media phenomenon, as there is so much more to expect from the tech-savvy youth of Saudi Arabia. Governmental perspectives have yet to become a central part of the debate. The potential of technologies to contribute to broader dialogue using Web 2.0 tools can be felt and the youth are now more capable and qualied to identify their liberty and rights. It is now time for the government to choose, either to be part of the debate, or part of the problem.

Can social media help Saudi Arabian women drive?

While not a reection of the general publics perspective, there has been vocal opposition to the protests by conservative groups. An anti-driving group on Facebook has called for real men to physically attack those women choosing to drive. Female activists were dubbed Westernised whores on Twitter. It is clear that the far-reaching immediacy of social media is now recognised by both the orthodox conservatives and revolutionary activists. Those in defence of the right of women to drive argue that widespread support of the issue is immaterial; instead it should be considered an issue of constitutional morality, a matter of individual rights. While positive, statements by the social media activist Eman Al Nafjan such as We need to do it again are somewhat misguided. Protests that endanger the well-being of women should not be considered an event rather a means to an end. The campaign should remain active and ongoing supporters should build momentum in order to galvanise change. Social media have given voice to the masses, and inspired young, forward-thinking progressive Saudi Arabians to ambitiously chase their aspirations. Many appealed to United States (US) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to emphasise her support for the issue. In response, she openly praised the actions of protesters, while stressing that their actions were not motivated by outsiders. There remains a new sense of hope for constitutional reform in Saudi Arabia. The relative conservatism and diplomacy of the kingdoms media have been circumvented through access to the internet. People from all over the world have contributed to the Honk for Saudi Women viral campaign. It has become apparent that times are changing, that the rules of engagement are now relevant to the 21st century, but that the question still remains as to whether social media can help change legislation in practice.

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public services, the need to control banks, a tax on wealth and speculative capital movements, the guarantee of citizen freedoms and participatory democracy, and a reduction of military spending. The internet is playing a key role in complementing these sorts of activities, and has been used to collect and disseminate information, discuss and prioritise ideas, build consensus, and produce documents and manifestos about how the political and economic system could be regenerated. When respondents were asked how effective the internet was in collecting representative opinions of Spanish citizens, the replies highlighted the key importance of extending internet access to more people; the fact that the internet is an interactive medium that is democratising participation in politics; the role of internet communities and thematic threads (including on Twitter) as a way for collective debate to occur; and the proliferation of voices, which stands in contrast to the presence of single perspectives from the so-called popes of the net. Regarding the effectiveness of tools for collective participation and collective decision making on the internet, replies highlighted the importance of tools for the collaborative editing of documents (pads), knowledge sharing (wikis), email lists (with educated users following netiquette) or websites combining these with other specic web campaigning applications for example, the Todos contra el canon6 (Everyone against the levy) campaign against the private copying levy. Decision-making tools based on voting securely online were also mentioned (e.g. IdeaTorrent, Helios Voting). Organisations, informal groups or campaigns taking an active role or representing the internet community on issues of human rights and the internet were also identied by respondents. Apart from the organisations surveyed themselves, the Spanish Association of Small and Medium Informatics and New Tech Companies,7 Hacktivistas, Red-SOStenible.net, the Oxcars, and the campaigns Democracia Real YA (Real Democracy NOW), FCForum.net, Todos contra el canon, and No les votes8 (Dont vote for them) were mentioned. Respondents shared the opinion that the established political world effectively ignores critical internet issues, as events over the past year show to a different degree. For this reason the power of the internet to aggregate ideas and opinions usually surprises them. The reasons behind this general lack of interest in the internet include the idea that
6 7 8 www.todoscontraelcanon.com www.apemit.org www.nolesvotes.com

traditional political parties and the public administration do not fully understand the internet or are not able to incorporate its potential for a new way of interacting into their work, and that political parties are based on a model that precludes close interaction with citizens. It is illustrative to see that political parties during political campaigns tend to hire advertising companies to create an active presence on social media sites but after that they return to their websites that largely offer a one-way ow of information without any kind of support for participatory democracy or organised interaction with citizens. Even more worrying is that ideas from citizens expressed and collectively formulated online can be perceived as challenging the established political order. This resistance to change affects politics and social progress negatively. The net effect is that the political world ignores most initiatives or ideas coming through spontaneous or less formal groups that use the internet as a means to build or make visible proposals without going through the formal structures of political parties. They are usually perceived as manipulated ideas coming from a non-representative minority. There are a few exceptions of initiatives born on the internet with a real impact, sometimes forced by the use of established structures such as judicial decisions or petitions. Regarding how internet rights should be considered in the Spanish social and legal environment, the following issues were highlighted by respondents as relevant given the tensions between internet policies, economic and business interests, human rights and democracy: The internet should be considered a basic tool for communication, creation and innovation that supports citizen participation. Its neutrality and freedom should be preserved. Privacy, data protection and security are challenged by specic issues such as terrorism and the protection of intellectual property. This presents a dangerous move towards an Orwellian society. While security is necessary, it should not be at the expense of civil liberties. National laws and the European directives should be reformulated accordingly. Transparency in mechanisms for security and protection and their application is required from the government. While the internet has helped to make government decision making more transparent, it also allows for personal data to be accumulated. Citizens need to be empowered so that they have more control over how they are being tracked.

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Participation: ICTs enable the more democratic and direct participation of citizens. There is no need to call for expensive and time-consuming referendums to know the opinion of citizens, as there are internet-based tools that can be used to poll citizens on topics that affect them. Universal broadband: Apart from the wellknown arguments in favour of universal access, there is also a growth in the provision of public services in the public administration in general. Services such as health or education are being delivered over the internet. In this way the net becomes a means for citizen service and social participation and access to the internet becomes a growing human rights concern. Network neutrality: From the perspective of fundamental human rights this is equivalent to the principle of equality and non-discrimination of network users, and its defence is essential for the internet to be a basic tool for communication for everyone. Author rights (intellectual property): Technology changes require new business models. The digital private copying levy is unsustainable and a new equilibrium must be restored between author rights and the collective right of access to culture. As the European Directive 2000/31/ CE suggests, there is a need to agree upon codes of conduct. Events such as FCForum or the Oxcars have helped the creative sector to see the social function of cultural production as a service to the community, as opposed to the industrial model imposed by large multinational media industries.

(e.g. Digital Agenda 2020), or community networking initiatives such as Gui.net, are ways to enable the internet as a tool for participation and e-democracy. As has been said: The internet is not just another TV.9 An accessible, affordable, universal and content-neutral internet with open knowledge and open services is essential in the battle for civil rights in the 21st century. This requires supporting regulations: a national law, a European directive. Network neutrality: Its defence is essential to avoid the internet ending up under the control of just a few. Net neutrality requires the development of supporting regulations. Independent internet media and services: This highlights the importance of choosing commercially independent and community-owned internet services and applications (i.e. run by non-prot social movements, such as the Wikimedia foundation) over those with commercial interests (e.g. Facebook, Twitter). New models of cultural production have a key social role in facilitating access to rich and diverse content for communities. Visibility on the street: ICT activism and political activities on the internet should have a strong presence on the street and a real impact in the political arena. But the way to go is through complementing internet initiatives with activities on the ground, rather than working from the other way around (e.g. in the way that traditional political campaigns typically have a weak internet presence). ICT activism, bottom-up politics, and citizen participation using the internet are already strong in Spain, as clearly shown by the 15M movement. These sorts of movements have been successful in developing manifestos following a bottom-up and participatory process, and have been successful in attracting the attention of both citizens and the traditional media (press, TV). The challenge now is to be heard effectively by political parties and governmental structures a task that is very difcult given that the political voice is coming from an unconventional source.

Action steps
There are several key topics of common interest for ICT activists in Spain and Europe: An obvious direction is strengthening coordination among multiple organisations in Spain to work in common directions. That is already happening in most campaigns and occurs through personal or organisational links. This type of coordination is also relevant to organisations in other countries of the EU or with pan-European organisations such as the European Digital Rights Initiative (EDRI) (Pangea and X.net are already members). Widening the political representation of the internet world implies working towards including more citizens in the digital world. Strategies for universal service or broadband for all, timidly discussed at the national or European level

internetnoseraotratv.net/en

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