Dozens of Saudi Arabian women showed women power yesterday by driving cars against the country’s barbaric law banning women from driving.
The Guardian reports that more than 60 messages, including videos of women driving in streets, were received by Aziza Youssef, Saudi professor and campaigner for women’s rights. The Associated Press too was referred to with the message from a Saudi security official who confirmed that no woman was arrested for Saturday’s driving.
The incident makes an example of the power of oppressed civilians who want more freedom for their basic rights and reforms in the country’s laws that are heavily prejudiced against women and minorities.
In 2011, a courageous Saudi woman Manal al-Sahrif openly challenged the ban on women’s driving by getting her car out on the street and posting her video online. She was arrested by the Saudi police but later released due to mounting pressure and international outcry from activists around the world. Manal al-Sahrif was acknowledged by Time 100 as one of the most influential contemporary people.
