Saudi MPs call for ban on commuter harassment

Female Shura Council members are demanding legislation to ban harassment of women who use public transportation in commuting. The move anticipates women using the numerous public transportation projects under way now and will be the target of harassment my male commuters. One Shura Council member, Hayat Sindi, proposed the establishment of a safety department at the Ministry of Transportation chaired by a woman. “Women are more considerate to safety measures,” said Sindi, noting that 60 percent of world’s patents in safety fields are by women, such as air cushions. Hamda Al-Anzi said there is the urgent need to find solutions to transport girl students and teachers, as the latter pay “outrageous amounts of money of their salaries for transportation only,” she said. Another recommendation submitted by Saleh Al-Afaleq said that the Transportation Ministry should provide inspectors to check trucks on the roads. During the same session, the Shura Council discussed a report of the financial affairs committee concerning the annual report of Saudi General Customs, saying that a tour by the committee found out that goods stay in the open for long, damaging the contents. The committee demanded that the customs department undertake a study about technical and administrative gaps that allow counterfeited goods pass through its checkpoints.