Saudi Women Renew Fight To Lift Driving Ban
A Saudi student's online call to challenge once again the ban on women driving has gone viral.
Speaking before a plain orange background, a young woman started talking in a soft voice. “Hello,” she said. “This is a new campaign to gain our right to drive cars.”
That was Lujain al-Hathloul, a Saudi student in Canada who has become an online celebrity after posting a series of videos criticizing restrictions on women in the conservative kingdom. Wearing a short haircut and dressed in a black blazer over a purple top, Hathloul called on her fellow countrywomen to take to the streets on Oct. 26 to challenge the ban on driving. Her call quickly went viral, receiving more than 600,000 views in less than four days after it was posted on the video-sharing site Keek on Sept. 20.
“If you did not get a chance to participate in 1991 or 2011, there is a new chance in Oct. 26, 2013,” she said. “I hope that a huge number of girls take part this time to end this crisis.”
After two failed attempts separated by 20 years between them, Saudi women are gearing up again to challenge the ban with a new campaign.
