Two female Saudi activists were sent to the Specialised Criminal Court that deals with terrorist cases in capital city Riyadh after they were caught trying to drive into the Kingdom.
The women, Loujaim al-Hathloul and Maisa al-Alamoudi, were posting their driving experiences on social media and government officials who were tracking their activity awaited them when they drove from the United Arab Emirates, according to an activist.
Saudi Arabia has seen various protests against the ‘informal prohibition’ of driving by women, which became active in 1990.
Inspired by American female soldiers driving tanks and army vehicles in the Gulf war, protests where dozens of women went out driving were organised in 2011 and 2013. in September 2011, a woman was charged with 10 whiplashes after being caught driving, but reports say King Abdullah overturned the decision.
In October 2013, many women spread footage showing them driving in Saudi Arabia as well as male drivers showing their support on Twitter and other social media.
Though the protests did not achieve an abolishment of the driving ban, as a general women’s rights protest, it had the desired effect.
In the 2015 municipal elections, women are allowed to vote and run as council members for the first time, whereas in the Vatican, women still cannot vote.
The election in itself is supposed to make Saudi Arabia more democratic, despite the fact that only 50% of council members are elected and King Abdullah and his family still hold absolute power.
In January 2014, King Abdullah appointed 30 female members to his Consultative Assembly, better known as the Shura Council.
The council, which has a total of 150 members, is more of an advisory council and does not have any legislative powers, but it has the power to promote laws to the King and his cabinet.
Women in Saudi cannot go out without a Mahram, a male chaperone, often a family member. They cannot try on clothes when shopping, or go swimming in public.
Sarah Birke, the Economist’s Middle East and North Africa correspondent, said: “The most obvious change at the moment is in terms work. Previously, Saudi women were only really allowed to work in education […] but after a series of liberalisations, women can now work anywhere from banks to cash tills in supermarkets.”
In January 2014, female lawyer Bayan Mahmoud Al Zahran even set up the first female law firm with three colleagues. The firm aimed to particularly help women find legal aid.
“We are very proud of our daughter who stands firm for protection of women’s rights. This will help all women who couldn’t go and speak to male lawyers about their problems,” Al Zahran’s father said.
Though the lack of democracy and the very select interpretation of Islam in the Kingdom limits women’s rights, their prospects are higher than ever.
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