The recent campaign for women’s right to drive and the recent attempt by Manal Al-Sharif to drive in the Eastern Province was not welcomed by many in the Kingdom, as demonstrated by special stickers stating: “Together against women driving.”
Yaman Masrahi, an 18-year-old Saudi, posted his mobile number on the rear window of his car. He did that because he wanted to attract girls’ attention.
“I find this the best way to attract attention. I received many phone calls from girls. I also received, however, two traffic tickets because of this. I take the post off and then I put it back again,” said Masrahi.
Expatriates express love for their country by posting certain phrases, pictures and their national flag.
Adel Al-Battah, a Syrian expat who lives in Jeddah, faced some trouble when he posted the picture of the Syrian president on the back of his car to express his support for his country. He was driving when another group of Syrians followed him in a car and threw objects at his car window. He said the attack lasted for few minutes as they chased him down streets in Jeddah’s Rawdah district.
“When I managed to escape, I took the poster off my car to avoid any trouble. All I wanted to do was express my opinion,” said Adel.
Saud Al-Harbi, a 35-year-old Saudi and fan of Al-Ahli football club, regretted placing posters of his favorite team on his car.
“I used to leave the scarf of my team inside the car along with posters. One day I found my car trashed, the paint scratched and windows smashed. Those who did it left a note telling me to support a better team. Since then I stopped posting anything in my car,” said Al-Harbi.
Ma’en Al-Harthi, a Saudi teenager who had never posted anything in his car, recently did so to express his opinion against the campaign supporting women driving.
“After the recent attempt by Al-Sharif to drive in the Eastern Province, I posted a sticker against women driving to express my opinion. Although many people passing gave me the thumbs up, the majority are giving me the thumbs down,” he said.
Samer Abdulrahman, a Jordanian expat from Jeddah, posted the Shahadah (Muslim declaration of faith) on his car.
“I did this seeking reward from Allah. Although placing this poster in the rear window is a violation, the police never stopped me,” he said.
“Sadly, youths are now posting useless stuff in their cars. I have never seen a young man who has stuck something useful on his rear window. Ten years ago, large numbers of youth created a phenomenon by posting the word ‘Mashallah,’ or ‘God is Great’ in addition to pictures of Saudi kings.”
The Ministry of Interior issued a directive in October 2004 banning all vehicles in the Kingdom from posting pictures, flags, or phrases on vehicle windows.