Major car brands such as Ford and Nissan are delighted about Saudi Arabia’s new law for women drivers. For the first time, King Salman of Saudi Arabia has finally issued a decree that lifted the ban that previously prohibited female drivers from operating cars, BBC reported.

To celebrate this feat, Ford created a visual advertisement in relation to the major change in the country’s provisions for women. Before the decree was issued, Saudi Arabia was the only nation in the world that implemented a controversial ban for women to drive cars.

Ford tweeted a visual graphics of a woman’s eyes looking at the car’s rearview mirror over a plain black background, Detroit Metro Times reported.

The image evoked the traditional attire that Arabian women wear in the region.

The tweet from the American car manufacturer had a caption that read, “Welcome to the driver’s seat.” The company added the hashtags “#SaudiWomenMove” and “#SaudiWomenCanDrive.”

Saudi Arabia’s driving ban

The driving ban, which has currently been lifted, has been condemned by other countries. It even escalated up to the point when the country’s officials had to explain the rationale behind such rule, The New York Times reported.

Some of these included arguments that driving women “was inappropriate in Saudi culture.” Another argument stated that male drivers might not be able to “handle having women in cars next to them.” There were also statements saying that when women were allowed to drive, it “would lead to promiscuity and collapse of the Saudi family.”

The lifting of the ban will be effective in June 2018.

The decree was broadcast on live television and simultaneous press events in some parts of the United States. The new rule is expected to contribute to the growth of the economy in the Middle East nation, the report added.

Nissan, Volkswagen

Aside from Ford, other Car Manufacturers also joined the social media celebration.

Japanese car company Nissan rendered their ad as a Saudi plate number that read “2018 GRL” in both English and Arabic characters.

Meanwhile, German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen created a visual advertisement that featured tattooed hands of a woman with her fist closed over a curved shape. The shape evoked a steering wheel and had a text that read, “My turn.”

Ford’s advertisement was taken from an award-winning visual piece from another company, the J.

Walter Thompson in Doha. This image won an award at the Dubai Lynx in 2016.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED