Report: Saudi man divorces wife for driving

A Saudi man has reportedly divorced his she sent him a video clip of her driving a car in a public place in the kingdom.

Local news website Sabq reported that the wife sent him the clip on Whatsapp, expecting to surprise her husnband.

However, according to the website, the man argued that his wife had broken the law and the social traditions and norms.

The husband told a judge that he asked his wife to go and stay with her family until the divorce papers are processed.
Saudi Arabia has a de-facto ban on women driving, wich the country’s Grand Muft has described as a way to protect the society from “evil.”

Social media users were divided over the husband’s decision to file for divorce. Some praised him for standing up for traditions, while others criticized him for breaking up a family.

The issue of women driving has been a tense debate in the kingdom for years, but last year it gained international media attention. In October, a group of women activists cancelled a campaign urging women to challenge the de-facto ban by driving their cars in the streets.

The decision to cancel the campaign was taken after a wave of uproar from ultra-conservative scholars and following an interior ministry warning.