Saudi Women for Driving Ask Subaru To Leave

Bloomberg reports:

A group campaigning for an end to Saudi Arabia’s ban on driving by women called on Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (7270)’s Subaru cars unit to pull out of the kingdom until the prohibition is lifted.

Today’s announcement follows U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s support yesterday for an appeal by the group, Saudi Women for Driving, which organized a show of defiance by women who drove in Saudi Arabia on June 17. Clinton called them “brave, ” saying, “I am moved by it and I support them.” The activists had questioned Clinton’s silence over their June 3 letter asking for her backing.

“It is our hope that this will put huge pressure on the Saudi royal family and shine a bright light on the ‘gender apartheid’ in our country,” the group said of its call for Subaru to exit the kingdom. “It’s a chance for the company to live up to its brand and make a huge difference for nearly 13 million of us Saudi women.”

Subaru was the first carmaker targeted by the campaign because it is “progressive” and has marketed its products to women, the group said in a petition on U.S.-based Change.org, a website for social activism. The campaign may be extended to Detroit-based General Motors Co. (GM)’s Cadillac and Seoul-based Hyundai Motor Co. (005380), two brands of car used by Manal al-Sharif, a Saudi woman who was arrested last month for driving, said Change.org’s human-rights editor, Benjamin Joffe-Walt.