Saudi officials are aghast as a shocking video of a Saudi woman on the Internet. The outcry would make one believe it was a snuff film or pornographic movie. In fact it is even more salacious: it shows Wajeha Al-Huwaider driving. The video below should raise awareness of the subclass status of women in the Kingdom, including a prohibition on their driving.
Saudi human rights activist Wajeha al-Huwaider has been continually harassed and arrested for her effort for achieve equal rights for Saudi women.
She is a member of the group Human Rights First in Saudi Arabia, the country’s only independent human rights group. The Saudi government refused to license the group.
The video is worth watching to remind the world that there is a place where women cannot travel freely and live under medieval legal conditions.
For the video, click here
JT, I am sadly reminded of that every time I read a news item here about how women are treated in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries. We in the U.S. take our freedom to drive, whether we’re men or women, for granted, and it’s hard to fathom that there are countries like Saudi Arabia who treat women with almost sub-human status.
It’s videos like these (i.e the puppy getting thrown off the cliff) which really open our eyes to some of the things going on over there. These days, you cant here a news story w/out a spin, left, or right. So, while a story like this would have normally been buried in the mass media under articles of Britney Spears and “John Cho: ‘Star Trek’ role is ‘daunting’”, these internet videos are easily availible, to the point, and becoming more popular everday. Thanks for being a medium in sharing the video JT.
GF
I think the comparison to the puppy video is a good one. In both videos, you are left in disbelief. It is beyond comprehension that there is a large nation where women must ask their sons to drive them or can be arrested for sitting at a table at Starbucks with a non-relative.