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Saturday, January 3, 2009

Wajeha al-Huwaider

The following are excerpts from Helena de Bertodano's article which appeared in The Age:

"Huwaider, 47, a human rights activist and writer who has made herself a thorn in the side of the Saudi Government.

In March last year, on International Women's Day, she filmed herself driving in a remote area of Saudi Arabia (where women are allowed to drive). She was appealing to the authorities to lift the ban on female drivers in the rest of the kingdom, which follows one of the strictest interpretations of Islam.

In the past, Huwaider has been detained, interrogated for hours and forced to sign a statement agreeing to desist from all human rights activities. In 2003, she was banned from writing, after saying in an article that young Saudis were increasingly attracted to a Western way of life and would welcome an American invasion. But she continues to write online. And in 2006 she was banned from leaving the country after she stood on a bridge between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia holding a placard addressed to King Abdullah: "Give Saudi women their rights." "

Please read the rest of Helena's article about this exceptional Saudi woman: "A fighter for Saudi women"

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