Saudi Arabia's Lifting Women Driver Ban Is an Economic Play
*By Jacqueline Corba*
For the first time in nearly three decades, women are allowed to get behind the wheel of a car in Saudi Arabia.
And while the change that went into effect Sunday may be a step forward for women's rights in the kingdom, it is also an economic move.
"The driving ban being lifted has been one in a set of limited economic and social reforms aimed specifically at making women good workers and good consumers," Human Rights Watch Acting Saudi Researcher Hiba Zayadin told Cheddar Monday. "With the drop in oil prices Saudi's strategy now is to shift the economy away from an over-dependence on oil."
And to do that, it means getting women to work.
Saudi Arabia's workforce is currently only [22 percent female](https://www.ft.com/content/c55d6cf4-8cd3-11e7-9084-d0c17942ba93), though women account for about 45 percent of the total population. PwC estimates that the number of female drivers will [reach 3 million within two years](https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/publications/women-driving-the-transformation-of-the-ksa-automotive-market.html), and if those women are better able to look for employment, that's going to have an impact. In fact, allowing women to drive will add $90 billion to Saudi Arabia's economy by 2030, according to [Bloomberg Economics](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-24/saudi-women-driving-is-seen-better-for-economy-than-aramco-ipo).
But getting everybody on board may not be so easy. The move, spearheaded by Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, [has some afraid of backlash](https://www.wsj.com/search/term.html?KEYWORDS=saudi%20arabia&page=2) from men reluctant to adopt more western norms. And many who champion equality reportedly remain detained for taking such a stance.
"The women's rights activists currently behind bars should be out there celebrating as well," said Zayadin. "What you are seeing on the news is women smiling with drivers licenses, but at the same time people are afraid to show solidarity for the women behind bars."
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/saudi-arabia-lifts-womens-driving-ban)
President Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the fourth time this year. Biden and Putin spoke for two hours about the massing of Russian troops and materials near the Russian border with Ukraine. Various outlets have reported that the U.S. has intelligence that Russia could be planning an invasion of Ukraine in the next few months. Both countries said the call was productive, but the situation remains tense.
Hagar Chemali, foreign policy expert and host of "Oh My World!" on YouTube, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
A recent Wall Street Journal poll indicated that Hispanic voters are up for grabs for the upcoming midterm elections, with 41 percent of respondents saying they would vote for Democrats and 44 percent for Republicans. Bryanta "Bre" Maxwell, a Democratic Strategist, former political director for Jaime Harrison's senate campaign, and principal and CEO of Indigo Consulting, LLC, joined Cheddar to break down the numbers and to dive into what this specific electorate is looking for as the balance of power in Congress hangs in the balance in 2022.
Vice President Kamala Harris received impressive amount of media coverage in January for making history. However, the media attention waned significantly and some are now even saying she has almost disappeared from public view. Reecie Colbert, founder of BlackWomenViews Media, joined Cheddar Politics to discuss more.
If you thought you heard the last of the Mueller report back in 2019, you'd be wrong. While the bombshell report was the biggest story in Washington for years, much of the report remained redacted. Our friends at BuzzFeed News weren't satisfied, so they sued to have certain passages unredacted. They notched another win when a federal appeals court ordered ten passages from the report to be released.
Matt Topic, BuzzFeed's attorney in the case, and Jason Leopold, reporter at BuzzFeed News, join Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The U.S. reported its first confirmed case of the omicron variant in California on Wednesday. Scientists and health officials are racing to understand the variant, with the WHO saying it's still too early to determine whether it's more contagious, more deadly or more resistant to vaccines than other variants. Omicron has pushed members of the WHO to commit to start talks over a "gobal pandemic treaty" for future pandemic preparedness.
Priti Krishtel, co-founder and co-executive director of the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
Wednesday was not a good day for those who believe in abortion rights in this country as the Supreme Court heard arguments on a Mississippi abortion law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The majority of the court appears poised to roll back abortion rights, and the questions from the conservative justices seemed to indicate the law for nearly 50 years is likely to change.
Jessica Mason Pieklo, senior vice president and executive editor of Rewire News Group, joined Cheddar Politics to discuss Wednesday's hearing.
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, has been busy since completing his prison sentence in November. He's getting into the NFT space, selling his federal prison badge and the original manuscript of his book "Disloyal" as NFTs. Cohen joined Cheddar to discuss his latest venture and why he thinks there is still much to be revealed about his case.
Jonathan Adler, Law Professor at Case Western Reserve University, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss Tuesday's ruling and provide legal context to recent battles over vaccine mandates.
