Islamic law and the automobile

Saudi women use the Koran to claim their right to drive.

What’s the latest trend in iPhone and Blackberry ring tones in Saudi Arabia? For women, at least, it’s “No Woman, No Drive”, the parody of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” by 26-year-old Saudi comedian, Hisham Fageeh, who returned to his native Riyadh after studying at New York’s Columbia University.

Fageeh’s satirical video was a response to the arrest of dozens of Saudi women, who had dared to challenge the country’s female driving ban over the previous months. Whether the comic is for or against the ban is not clear: “I’m not aiming to do anything political, just entertain”, he says. He doesn’t want to anger his audience over a subject so touchy that, according to polls, it even divides women, some of whom cling to conservative positions.

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