Ladies, Start Your Engines: Good Luck To The Saudi Women Bravely Defying The Driving Ban

[cali]

Activists have posted a video of a woman in Saudi Arabia driving a car, as their campaign urging women in the ultraconservative kingdom to defy a ban on getting behind the wheel kicks off.

A video posted Saturday on the official Arabic YouTube account of the driving campaign shows a woman identified as May Al Sawyan driving in Riyadh. She wears sunglasses and her hair is covered by the traditional black headscarf worn by Saudi women, but her face is otherwise visible.

In the run-up to the campaign, police warned that anyone disturbing public order would be dealt with forcefully. Ultraconservative clerics and have also warned against defying the country's driving ban on women.

The campaign for women to drive is a rare show of defiance in the kingdom.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/10/26/saudi-women-driving-protest/3225393/

[jakeXT]

1. It could get interesting when they clog the legal system

Saudi Arabia remains the only country that has a ban on women driving: While there is no legislation barring women from driving, they are not allowed to apply for driving licenses. Some women have been detained for holding “protest drives.”

Saudi traffic police do not issue driving licenses to women, and do not recognize foreign driving licenses. Put together, this effectively amounts to a ban.

http://rt.com/news/saudi-women-driving-campaign-661/

[idwiyo]

2. k&r

[KG]

3. it's so heart-warming the money the US spends to support another free, democtratic society

[peasant one]

4. I am so proud of these women

I am really so proud of these women. I wish we could start a campaign to send pics of women from here with handwritten signs showing support for these women. We are with them, we support them and we hope they succeed!

[riverwalker]

5. there is a support campaign on Twitter

#oct26driving

[progressoid]

7. Nice video.

Had to Google Leilani Munter though.

[riverwalker]

6. they had a website but it was hacked

so they posting their videos of todays driving on Twitter @oct26driving