Saudi woman defies driving ban in viral video

A video of a Saudi Arabian woman driving in defiance of the country's long-standing ban on women drivers has gone viral, reeling in over a million views since being uploaded to YouTube on Oct. 5.

While there is no specific law to prevent women from driving in Saudi Arabia, they cannot apply for driving licences and have previously been arrested on charges relating to public order or political protest for driving.

The video emerged soon after a conservative Saudi cleric said female drivers risk damaging their ovaries. The woman driving in the video is silent and wearing a Muslim headscarf.

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The woman filming is reportedly a Saudi writer/blogger and university lecturer, Eman Al Nafjan, who took to social media about the event.

"Guy at appliances store laughing when we told him we came driving ourselves!!! :)," she tweets.

Nafjan says that not allowing women to drive deeply affects their day-to-day functioning, as they have to rely on the men in their lives to take them everywhere.

“People understand how large of an effect it has, with the economy the way it is now,” she tells the Wall Street Journal. “You can’t get from 'A' to 'B' unless you pay a toll for being a woman. It’s such an obstacle.”

The video is only one of many showing Saudi women drivers that have surfaced in recent weeks ahead of the country's nationwide protest scheduled for Oct. 26.

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Another video of a Saudi woman, posted Wednesday, shows her driving in Riyadh as male motorists and families give her thumbs up in support.

"Several women are now driving but not being filmed," activist Khulud al-Fahd tells AFP.