A pop song that hilariously depicts the many ways women are oppressed in Saudi Arabia has racked up more than 2.5 million views on YouTube and angered hardliners in the kingdom.

Hwages, created by producer Majed Al Esa of the Saudi production company 8ies Studio, features a group of young women – covered from head-to-toe and their faces hidden behind black veils – engaging in activities such as skateboarding, riding scooters, shooting hoops and dancing that would not be tolerated by hardliners.

Against a catchy backbeat, the women sing in Arabic about the problems caused by men. They express the hope that men will “go extinct” because they seem to be “possessed” and cause “mental illnesses” for women.

The reactions are very diverse if you look at the comments on the Youtube page. They differ from “All the support to All Saudi Arabians girls and women from Turkey and Saudi Arabians males your rules not belong to Islam because Islam not banned driving car and something. You go, girls, we are together.” to “I am from Saudi Arabia and happy to live here Don’t think that we are bad or scared country .. we are developing country and we still opening to western countries but carefully without being very open country because Saudi Arabia is the holy country of Muslims so that it is Conservative country” but also “I would like to know what President Trump has to do with women’s rights in Saudi Arabia ? Women’s rights abuses in Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with President Trump but it has all to do with Islam. So, remember when you watch this that it is merely propaganda for reasons which are obvious.” The diversity of these comments is fascinating in some context.

People start talking about it, it starts a cultural discussion without intention. As a fact check, this video has been produced and created only by men, hence, I first found it “weird” to be honest. In a country where the men are portrayed to oppress women’s rights, something so specifically critical has been produced, that is certainly against the current practices. The only thing 8ies studio co-founder said about this production is “We are a creative company that produces entertainment videos through social media platforms.” I don’t know if they intended to make such a controversial entertainment video but I think that the fact that it is men who made this video, it contributes even more to the message it conveys.

I think this video is an important and a significant social project because ( intended or not intended ) it takes up a major social and political problem of Saudi Arabia: male-dominance. By showing what women can do and by making fun of the fact that they can’t because of men, a new image and a new narrative are formed. Yes, people have talked about these issues, however, a visual representation of the same is certainly more effective and prominent in the social world in and outside Saudi.

Another fact that I would appreciate, is, the manner in which the content is shot is highly creative and professional. As mentioned earlier, one could just post images, texts, talks or other mainstream mediums in this video and expect a response. However, actually shooting women perform the actions that they have, has an even bigger impact. This is “real life”.