Saudi Women Behind the Wheels: Analysis of the Saudis' Twitter Discourse Towards the Women Driving Decree

Abstract

The study examined the Saudi Twitter discussions and narratives towards the 2017 women driving decree, a major social reform introduced by the government reform plan, Vision 2030. The study employed a mixed-method approach that combined quantitative semantic and social network analyses (SNA) with qualitative discourse analysis (DA). The active use of Twitter led to the emergence of several publics across the network. Indeed, Saudi Twitter users showed an active use of hashtags to show their endorsement, preserve their traditions and social values. Saudi society showed its desire for change in response to the new socio-cultural reforms in the country.