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Riyadh: Although banned from driving, large numbers of women flocked to the third luxury car exhibition which opened in Jeddah on Sunday.
A range of the world's luxury cars were exhibited in this three-day event. Saudi officials and large numbers of businessmen and businesswomen as well as investors attended the opening ceremony.
Reports are saying that more than 1,500 luxury cars worth more than 4 billion Saudi riyals (Dh4b) are sold in Saudi Arabia every year.
The Al Watan newspaper reported that women were seen everywhere in the exhibition halls checking out the latest models of luxury cars.
Some came to have a look at the latest models and others to ask about the technology of such models. The prices of some cars at the exhibition exceeded 400,000 Saudi riyals.
"They came here encouraged by anticipation of the issuance of a decision allowing women to drive," one woman said.
There is heated debate in the Saudi press and on internet sites regarding the banning of Saudi women from driving. There are calls for an official decision allowing Saudi woman to drive.
Some Saudis believe that within the reform package initiated by the King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, the lifting of this ban, at any time, will not be surprising.
In November 2007, Prince Saud Al Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister told a British news channel that Saudi women should be given permission to drive. However, he said it was not up to the government to impose such changes on society.
On Friday the Geneva-based UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women asked Saudi Arabia to take immediate steps to end the practice of "male guardianship over women" and work to eliminate "negative cultural practices and stereotypes" which discriminate against women.
"The de facto ban on Saudi women driving further reinforces such stereotypes," the Committee said.
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