美国有线新闻 CNN 女性禁驾令将废除 沙特女性明年有望自己驾车

 

Our last show of the week begins with a significant cultural change in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom and absolute monarchy¹ has announced that women will be allowed to drive. Saudi Arabia is the last country on earth where this is illegal.

Experts say it's one of the most religiously conservative Islamic countries and that this issue has divided the nation for years. But they also called this a signal that the nation's 81-year-old king and 32-year-old crown prince a??r??e determined² to reform society. Their decision is partly economic.

The Saudi economy is heavily dependent on oil and oil prices have dropped in recent years, decreasing government revenue. Allowing women to drive could increase their numbers in the workforce³ which could in turn boost the economy.

Not everyone agrees with the change. Saudi critics have called allowing women to drive inappropriate and threatening to traditional Saudi families.

But for those celebrating the change which takes effect next summer, it's been a long time coming.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Saudi Arabia's young, ambitious crown prince is making history in the kingdom, letting women hit the roads here, meaning simple things like this allowed everywhere else in the world will be allowed here too.

Although that's come down from the palaces, it's really come up from the streets. Here, right after the ban, the first protest.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love driving. I wish I can drive in the country, in our country.

ANDERSON: From then, until now, time and again, year after year, women, thousands of them, taking on the often punishing fight to get Saudi back to the future, to where it was in 1989, the year before the ban came in, alongside the countless⁴ protests and just as many arrests.

The battle is being fought on social media, wildly popular in the kingdom and that's where the celebrations are. Like this by prominent activist⁵ Manal al-Sharif, jailed for driving for nine days back in 2011, forced into exile. Now, sharing a photo of herself behind the wheel, smiling, happy, proud. The caption⁶: the rain begins with a single drop.

There's a real arc of history here, in a country celebrating his 87th birthday, this in a kingdom where just on Saturday, for the first time ever, women were allowed into a sports stadium.

Saudi women are often seen as under the thumb, hidden away. But now, they are slowly emerging as soon to be drivers and much needed workers. As women start to turn the wheel, so the country is starting to steer⁷ in a new direction.

1 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

4 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 caption   

n.说明，字幕，标题；v.加上标题，加上说明

参考例句：

• I didn't understand the drawing until I read the caption.直到我看到这幅画的说明才弄懂其意思。
• There is a caption under the picture.图片下边附有说明。

7 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。