Page 3 Profile: Hisham Fageeh, youtube comedian

Hisham Fageeh, youtube comedian

So this guy really doesn’t think women should drive...

Good to know satire isn’t lost on you then. The world’s current big viral video hit “No Woman, No Drive” is in fact the creation of 26-year-old Saudi-American comedian Hisham Fageeh and is meant to ridicule Saudi Arabia’s ban on women driving.

It’s a rather catchy tune – haven’t I heard it somewhere before?

Most likely - it’s based on Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry”. Produced by Alaa Wardi, the adaption was apparently made “without musical instruments” – in an apparent extra dig at Saudi orthodoxy, which frowns on musical instruments.

Isn’t it stealing the thunder of the women’s own protest though?

It’s true that the video has come at a time when Saudi women’s campaign is intensifying, with a number posting videos and pictures online of themselves driving. Fageeh has said: “My philosophy is that you do something you think is funny and hope that other people enjoy it,” he said.

So is this driving ban actually imposed?

Yes. There’s even been a heavier police presence following the campaign. Without the permission of a male relative, Saudi women are also unable to travel abroad, open a bank account or work.

Wow, so has Fageeh done anything before? He seems to have come out of nowhere.

He’s definitely not reached this level of fame in the past – the video has now received over five million views, which the comedian has called “insanity”. Fageeh has been performing since 2011 though and some of his videos had received hundreds of thousands of hits.