From the first moment Saudi women hit the road to end the long-standing ban on their driving in Saudi Arabia, the internet has been flooded with celebratory images and videos of women behind the wheel.
Several officials, imams, celebrities and businessmen went to social media to celebrate the historic moment, congratulating women in the ultra-conservative Kingdom for finally fulfilling the first of several demands they have been asking for in the last decade.
The former imam of Mecca’s Grand Mosque, Adel Al-Kalbani, posted on Twitter slamming back people who said that women will never drive in Saudi Arabia.
Translation: “How cute were those who said women will never drive.”
Maha Akeel, a Saudi author and human rights defender tweeted comparing Saudi women to Cinderella fantasy, as they will be allowed to drive for the first time at June 24, 2018 at 12:00 AM.
“TheBoominati” added a photoshopped image for a Saudi car plate with the letters of the word “Girl”: “Grl” in english and “بنت” in Arabic.
Another user posted a video mocking how parents and male brothers act when their daughters start driving in Saudi Arabia.
Many Saudi users find it hard to accept the idea of women driving in the streets, tweeting videos of alleged accidents caused by women in the streets of the kingdom.
Translation: "From the first five minutes, a woman came and hit a pharamcy in our neighbourhood."
Aziz Alangari from Saudi Arabia tweeted that he just got his first Uber ride with a female driver.
Fawaz Aziz, a Saudi journalist shared the story of a Saudi woman lives in the Saudi desert and has been driving for the more than 13 years.
Translation: “This Saudi woman has been driving since more than 13 years until the moment. Maybe she does not know that tomorrow is the day of Saudi women driving. The story was published in Al Watan in October 2005.”
Issam Bayan mocked the fact that some Saudi women are gonna miss the luxury of having a driver.
Kareem Chehayeb, Saudi Arabian journalist and author had tweeted also a video reminding Saudi Arabians of the activists who have been detained in the kingdom.
June 24, 2018 has become a historic day in Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world where women were not allowed to drive until September 2017. A step triggered by the newly-appointed Crown Prince by that time, Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), to pave the way for other supposed reforms in the country.
