no woman no drive
"No Woman, No Drive" parody draws attention to Saudi's controversial women driver ban. YouTube / Alaa Wardi

The hyper-conservative Saudi kingdom has become a subject of viral laughter when activist and comedian Hisham Fageeh shared "No Woman, No Drive," a cringeworthy yet entertaining satire of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" classic.

The Islamic kingdom bans Saudi Arabian women from driving cars. Protesters argue that the ban should be abolished due to the old fashion beliefs. However, Saudi government officials insist the ban is consistent with Islam beliefs. In fact, judicial adviser Sheikh Saleh bin Saad al-Lohaidan, a member of an association of Gulf psychologists, argues the ban is in place to protect women:

"If a woman drives a car, not out of pure necessity, that could have negative physiological impacts as functional and physiological medical studies show that it automatically affects the ovaries and pushes the pelvis upwards," said al-Lohaidan. In response to the stigma, Saudi women have protested by posting photographs or videos of themselves driving online.

Now, comedian Hisham Fageeh is the latest women's advocate to draw attention to the controversial issue. In Fageeh's performance of "No Woman, No Cry," the lyrics demonstrate just how ridiculous the justifications of the ban are.

"Say I remember when you used to sit, in the family car, but backseat," sang Fageeh, "Ova-ovaries all safe and well, so you can make lots and lots of babies." The video received a lot of strong, mostly positive, reactions as the video has garnered more than 5.4 million views since Saturday.

But what do we think? I believe it is time that the Saudi government learn about Michelle Mouton. During the golden era of motorsports in the mid-80's, some fans regard the Group B Rally cars as the most terrifying yet awe-inspiring motor racing showcase ever. Full stop. Amid the fierce competition for Group B supremacy, Mouton and the Audi Quattro stood out as number 1.

Michelle Mouton claimed her first victory at the '81 Rallye Sanremo round of the World Rally Championship. In 1982, she would finish second only to Walter Rohrl. In 1984, Mouton became the first woman to win the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb. In 1985, she won the hillclimb outright again and broke the Pikes Peak record in the process.

After her victory in 1985, Pikes Peak veteran Bobby Unser was particularly sour that a French woman in a German car would topple a record that belonged to a family that had raced at the hill climb for three generations.

Unfazed, Mouton responded: "If you have the balls, you can try to race me back down as well.”