TW: This article briefly discusses torture and sexual assault.
Loujain al-Hathloul, a prominent Saudi women’s rights activist, has been released from prison after more than 1,000 days detained.
She was arrested in 2018 for defying the women’s driving ban in Saudi Arabia, which was lifted a few months after her arrest.
WHO IS LOUJAIN AL-HATHLOUL?
Hathloul was born in Saudi Arabia, before graduating with a degree in French from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
In 2013, she was imprisoned for 73 days after attempting to live stream herself driving from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) into Saudi Arabia, where women were banned from driving at the time.
Following her imprisonment and subsequent release, in 2015 she attempted to stand in Saudi local elections but was disqualified, along with another woman. This was the first time that women were allowed to stand for election in Saudi Arabia, as well as the first time they were granted the vote.
In 2016, Hathloul was one of 14,000 people who signed a petition to King Salman campaigning for the male guardianship system to be abolished, which forbade women from travelling, conducting official business, and undergoing certain medical procedures without explicit permission from their male guardians.
In 2019, the law was partially amended meaning women over the age of 21 no longer need a male guardian. This means they can now divorce, apply for official documents such as passports, and travel outside of the country without needing permission from a male family member.
ARREST
In March 2018, Hathloul was kidnapped and deported from the UAE to Saudi Arabia, where a travel ban was imposed upon her. She was then detained again in May of that year, along with fellow women’s rights activists.
Despite the ban on women driving being lifted in June of that year, Hathloul remained under arrest. Her family has said that while detained she was subjected to torture, including whippings and sexual assault.
In December 2020, Hathloul was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison. However having served almost three years already, the judge suspended part of her sentence, allowing for her release last week, which her sister announced on Twitter.
Her family have spoken out about the conditions of her release, including the fact that she will face restrictions such as a five-year travel ban. It is also understood that one of the conditions of her release is that she does not discuss her time in custody.
It is thought that the election of Joe Biden as U.S. President in November may have influenced last week’s events: during his candidacy, Biden pledged to reassess U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia and increase scrutiny on the nation’s human rights record.
Last week he issued a statement, calling her release “welcome news” and describing her as “a powerful advocate for women’s rights.” Hathloul’s family thanked President Biden, with her sister stating that she believed his election played a role in her release.
FUTURE
Hathloul’s work has changed the face of women’s rights activism, something for which she has been recognised worldwide: in 2015, she came third in the list of Top 100 Most Powerful Arab Women. She was also announced as one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2019.
She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in both 2019 and 2020. She is currently shortlisted for the 2020 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, the winner of which will be announced in April this year.
Hathloul’s release from prison is a triumph for human rights and a welcome step in the right direction for women’s rights activists in Saudi Arabia, who continue to be targeted by the state for their campaigning.
Human rights groups such as Amnesty International have been continuously calling for Saudi Arabia to free the women punished and imprisoned for fighting for the right to drive.
Loujain al-Hathloul has been released from prison, but countless other women remain in custody for fighting for women’s rights. It remains to be seen how Saudi Arabia will respond to growing pressure to free them, and indeed, to stop imprisoning them in the first place.
Saskia Harper
Featured image courtesy of Jeanne Menjoulet via Flickr. This image has in no way been altered. Image license is available here.