2015年经济学人 沙特女性抗议禁止女性开车规定

Saudi Arabia's women drivers

Ovarian issue

Will Saudi women ever be allowed behind the wheel of a car?

WHEN a group of Saudi women first took to the kingdom's roads to flout¹ its ban on female drivers,

they publicised their protest by fax and videocassette.

The 47 participants suffered fines, travel bans, social ostracism² and, in some cases, the loss of government jobs.

The ban itself, 23 years and many protests later, remains³. But much else has changed.

The campaigners behind a drive-along protest scheduled for October 26th have put it on Twitter, Facebook and a slick website.

Their petition demanding that the government issue driving licences to women has gathered close to 17,000 signatures.

A call for women to upload videos of themselves driving has already gathered dozens of clips.

The footage of headscarved ladies navigating⁴ suburban⁵ traffic may scarcely be thrilling, but some have scored over 100,000 web viewings.

For the first time, too, women have allies in government.

Earlier this year King Abdullah named 30 female members to the previously⁶ all-male Shura Council, the royally-appointed proto-parliament.

Three of the new women in it have voiced open support for an end to the driving ban.

But the campaign's opponents have changed tactics, too. Official monitors have blocked its website.

Tweeters in favour of the ban, derided⁷ by campaigners in the kingdom as “eggs”

for leaving blank the oval space for their own portrait that the messaging service provides, are putting out reams of negative comment.

Some have sought to dampen support for women wanting to drive by spreading false rumours⁸ of an imminent⁹ government move to lift the ban.

More traditional foes¹⁰ of change have also been active.

On October 23rd a group of 200-odd clerics gathered outside the royal court to denounce what they described as a “conspiracy” to put women behind the wheel.

Last month Sheikh Salah al-Luhaydan, a well-known cleric who also practises psychology¹¹,

claimed on a popular Saudi website that it has been scientifically proved that driving “affects the ovaries” and leads to clinical disorders¹² in the children of women who are foolish enough to drive.

1 flout   

v./n.嘲弄，愚弄，轻视

参考例句：

• Parents who flout Family Court orders may be named in the media in Australia.在澳洲父母亲若是藐视家庭法庭的裁定可能在媒体上被公布姓名。
• The foolish boy flouted his mother's advice.这个愚蠢的孩子轻视他母亲的劝告。

2 ostracism   

n.放逐；排斥

参考例句：

• Until I emigrated to America,my family and I endured progressive ostracism and discrimination.我的家庭和我自己忍受着变本加厉的排斥和歧视直到我移居美国。
• For the first time in her life the import and horror of social ostracism flashed upon her.她生平第一次突然想到遭受社交界排斥的意义与可怕。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

5 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

6 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 derided   

v.取笑，嘲笑( deride的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His views were derided as old-fashioned. 他的观点被当作旧思想受到嘲弄。
• Gazing up to the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity. 我抬头疑视着黑暗，感到自己是一个被虚荣心驱使和拨弄的可怜虫。 来自辞典例句

8 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

9 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

10 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

11 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

12 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》