Saudi Woman Sentenced To Lashes For Driving

A Saudi woman has been sentenced to 10 lashes with a whip for defying the country's ban on female drivers.

It is the first time a legal punishment has been handed down for a violation of the longtime ban in the ultra-conservative Muslim nation.

Women drivers are usually stopped and questioned but let go after they pledge not to drive again.

But dozens of female drivers have continued to take to the roads since June in a campaign to break the taboo.

Shaima Jastaina, in her 30s, was found guilty of driving without permission. She has appealed the verdict.

Her sentencing on Tuesday came just two days after King Abdullah promised to protect women's rights.

He declared women could vote, take part in municipal elections in 2015 and that a woman would be appointed to the all-male advisory body, the Shura Council.

The mixed signals show the challenges facing the King, who is known as a reformer, in achieving change without antagonising conservatives and the clergy.

Activists saw the sentence as a retaliation from the hard-line Saudi religious establishment that controls the courts and oversees the religious police.

Sohila Zein el-Abydeen, from the National Society for Human Rights, burst into tears when asked about the punishment.

"The verdict is shocking to me, but we were expecting this kind of reaction," she said.

She added: "How come women get flogged for driving while the maximum penalty for a traffic violation is a fine, not lashes?

"Even the Prophet (Muhammad's) wives were riding camels and horses because these were the only means of transportation."

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women - both Saudi and foreign - from driving.

It is not written in law but stems from conservative traditions and religious views that believe giving freedom of movement to women makes them vulnerable to sins.

The prohibition forces families to hire live-in drivers, with those who cannot afford it having to rely on male relatives for transport.

Asked if the sentencing will stop women from driving, Maha al Qahtani, another female activist, said, "This is our right, whether they like it or not."