Video of Saudi Women Dancing and Playing Viewed Over 3 Million Times in Two Weeks

Seeing women cycling, playing basketball, bowling, and dancing in a music clip is not new, but if this music clip is filmed in Saudi Arabia and the women are wearing masks while dancing and cycling, then it becomes international news. According to AFP 24, a new video by Saudi pop singer Majda Al-Eissa has created a lot of buzz online. The video, titled 'Worries', has garnered over three million views on YouTube in the two weeks since its release. In the first part of the video, several women, all wearing masks and cloaks, are sitting in the back seats of a car while a young boy is driving, with the front passenger seat empty. The women clap and sing, 'If God reduces the evil of these men.' AFP notes that this phrase is almost obsolete and was more common in the Al-Qassim region, north of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. As the video continues, the women, while dancing, skating, and playing basketball, sing that 'men drive us crazy' and 'men have made us mad.' In one scene of this clip, the White House press room is shown with a paper model of Donald Trump appearing from behind the podium. The podium sign reads 'Men's Palace' and attendees, with their backs to the camera, can be seen holding a placard with Hillary Clinton's photo crossed out and another placard with a mustache symbol. According to International Business Times, in a country where women's autonomy is completely under the control of their male relatives, Majda Al-Eissa's video has stirred significant noise on Saudi social media. Last month, some Saudi social media users called for the arrest and even execution of a woman who posted a photo of herself without a hijab on Twitter. This 21-year-old user ultimately had to delete her account and was imprisoned for violating Saudi moral laws.