Saudi women mock ‘You can’t drive’ hashtag as they get ready to take to the roads

Saudi women mock ‘You can’t drive’ hashtag as they get ready to take to the roads
Copyright REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
Copyright REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
By Alice Cuddy
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Female social media users have commandeered an Arabic Twitter hashtag that translates to "You can't drive".

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As Saudi Arabia prepares to lift its decades-long ban on women driving, social media users there are divided over the change.

An Arabic hashtag translated as “You Won’t Drive” has been used by some men on Twitter to show their dissatisfaction with the plan.

However, it has now been taken over by female social media users, who have shared it alongside pictures of their dream cars and Saudi Driving School books.

One Twitter user wrote “We’ll drive while your watching” alongside the hashtag and a video of a girl driving a toy car.

Women in Saudi Arabia will be allowed to drive in the kingdom next month under a royal decree issued in September 2017.

Driving schools for women have been set up across five cities in the conservative country, with women aged 18 and over allowed to apply for a licence.

The change is one of a series of social reforms introduced by Riyadh in recent months which have been largely credited to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and include re-opening cinemas and allowing women to attend football matches at public stadiums.

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