Amid Driving Campaign, Saudi Woman Says She Was Raped By
Chauffeur  A Saudi daily reported that a businesswoman in Medina
had gone to the police, saying her driver had raped her at
gunpoint.  Further details were scant, but the story took
special significance in a country where women are forbidden from
driving in Saudi Arabia, and where those who can afford it hire
drivers. The long-simmering issue has returned to the fore after
a Saudi female activist was detained by authorities for her
campaign to get women to flout the driving rules on June 17.
Thirty-two year-old Internet consultant Manal al-Sharif, who had
uploaded a video of herself driving to YouTube and started a
Facebook group called "Teach me how to drive so I can protect
myself," was released on bail Monday after ten days in custody.
Her detention had led to a Facebook group called "We are all
Manal al-Sharif," with over 24,000 members.  Her release came
with a catch: The declaration that she would end her campaign.
Her lawyer said, ""She wrote a