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Saudi Video Protests Driver Ban

YouTube clip shows woman driver calling for change in law

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 11, 2008 7:15 PM CDT

(Newser) – Activists have posted a video online to protest the Saudi ban on women drivers, the BBC reports. Made to honor International Women’s Day, the 3-minute clip on YouTube follows protester Wajeha Huwaider as she turns onto a forbidden highway and discusses the legality of the ban. “Many women in this society are able to drive cars,” Huwaider says as she drives.

“I hope that by next year's International Woman's Day, this ban will be lifted.” A 1990 demonstration against the law saw dozens of women drivers protest, but many were arrested and lost their jobs. Last month, two top Islamic scholars in Saudi Arabia shifted the debate by calling the ban unnecessary.

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

A woman gets in a taxi in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Sept. 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Omar al-Abdullah) (Associated Press)

A Saudi woman drives to protest a ban on woman drivers in this video, which has been viewed by thousands on YouTube. (YouTube)

An unidentified Saudi is seen in this Oct. 23, 2007, file photo taken in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Women in the country are banned from driving. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali) (Associated Press)

Two women crosses the street in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Sept. 17, 2007. Women in the country are banned from driving. (AP Photo/Omar al-Abdullah) (Associated Press)

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This is the protest video, though it's not in English. (YouTube)

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Saudi Video Protests Driver Ban