Loujain Alhathloul

Loujain Al-hathloul:Putting the pedal to the metal

Loujain Al-hathloul, a Saudi Woman Activist 

 Born on July 31st in Saudi Arabia, Loujain was faced with many examples of sexism and the unequal treatment of women. Although she grew up in a society where men were always held higher than woman, her family was very much liberal. When she attended the University of British Columbia, it opened her eyes to many things when it came to women's rights.
She then began to make videos online discussing topics such as "Saudi Women are stripped of their identity". After a while she continued posting videos and her views began to increase dramatically to about 5 million. Once she began getting attention, she discussed a topic she was very passionate about, Saudi Women and driving. She felt that driving was a privilege that all humans should have and shouldn't be stripped from anyone due to their biological sex. Through the video she created a movement called the "Women to Drive Movement" which got a huge amount of attention, including some other well known women activist such as Manal al-Sharif.


After all the publicity, she began to get backlash from some the "traditionalist" online as well as in person. She posted a video that got over 30 millions views discussing that if the ban was lifted that women would not be forced to drive. She then took a trip to Saudi Arabia and faced backlash, she became a huge figure after taking her dads cars for a spin. She was then noticed by someone from the church who was not happy and contacted her dad who ensured them it was to never happen again. In 2014, she attempted to cross the border to Saudi while driving and was arrested for 73 days, after her release she signed a pledge stating she wouldn't speak about women driving anymore in her videos. Not too long after the king lifted the ban from women driving which led her to different topics about men being held higher than women. In 2018, she was arrested due to the government wanting to crackdown on people against them. During this time she was subjected to torture and the government attempted to get her to sign a document agreeing to keep quiet about it, according to her family she ripped it up in their face. She also denied making the statement on camera. Her brother continued to tweet about her experiences being tortured, beaten, and electrocuted. When the court cases came around the detention denied all claims. 

Today, the public still does not know what charges she is facing but overall she is a well known activist who many women look up to as a powerful role model. She is one of the most respected women and was added to the list of top 100 most powerful Arab women. despite her tribulations she remained strong, brave, and continued to fight what she believed in.






Works cited:
“Gulf Centre for Human Rights.” Gulf Centre for Human Rights, https://www.gc4hr.org/news/view/1616.

“Loujain Alhathloul Height, Weight, Age, Family, Controversies, Biography, Facts & More » StarsUnfolded.” StarsUnfolded, 20 June 2018, https://starsunfolded.com/loujain-alhathloul/.

Mortada, Dalia. “Saudi Women's Rights Activists Appear In Riyadh Court.” NPR, NPR, 13 Mar. 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/03/13/702943562/saudi-womens-rights-activists-appear-in-riyadh-court.

“The Brave Female Activists Who Fought to Lift Saudi Arabia's Driving Ban.” Human Rights Watch, 11 Oct. 2017, https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/09/29/brave-female-activists-who-fought-lift-saudi-arabias-driving-ban.