Loujain al-Hathloul

Loujain al-Hathloul
لجين الهذلول
Born (1989-07-31) 31 July 1989 (age 35)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Alma materUniversity of British Columbia[1]
Known forDefying female driving ban in Saudi Arabia
Spouse
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(m. 2014; div. 2018)​
[2]
FamilyLina al-Hathloul (sister)
AwardsVáclav Havel Human Rights Prize (2020)

Loujain al-Hathloul (Arabic: لجين الهذلول Lujjayn al-Hadhlūl; born 31 July 1989) is a Saudi women's rights activist, a social media figure, and political prisoner. She has been arrested on several occasions for defying the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia. In May 2018, she and several prominent women's rights activists were kidnapped in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and deported to Saudi Arabia where they were charged with "attempting to destabilise the kingdom." Her ex-husband, Saudi stand-up comedian Fahad al-Butairi, had also been forcibly returned from Jordan to the Kingdom and was under arrest.[3][4][5]

For her women's rights activism, Al-Hathloul was awarded the 2019 PEN America /Barbey Freedom to Write Award[6] and the 2020 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize.[7][8] She was one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People of 2019".[9] She was released from prison on 10 February 2021,[10][11] but lives under a travel ban.[12]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference CbcUbcGrad was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Nordlinger, Jay (18 January 2021). "A Saudi Woman". National Review. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  3. ^ Hubbard, Ben (8 October 2018). "'Our Hands Can Reach You': Khashoggi Case Shakes Saudi Dissidents Abroad". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Saudi Arabia: Reveal Fate of Jamal Khashoggi". Human Rights Watch. 11 October 2018.
  5. ^ Kristof, Nicholas (26 January 2019). "She Wanted to Drive, So Saudi Arabia's Ruler Imprisoned and Tortured Her". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Nouf Abdulaziz, Loujain Al-Hathloul, Eman Al-Nafjan". PEN America. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  7. ^ Nadim Aburakia, Marcel (19 April 2021). "Loujain Al-Hathloul wins Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  8. ^ Václav Havel Human Rights Prize. "FOCUS ON WOMENS' RIGHTS AS THREE CANDIDATES SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 VÁCLAV HAVEL PRIZE".
  9. ^ "The 100 Most Influential People of 2019". TIME. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  10. ^ Smith, Saphora (10 February 2021). "Loujain al-Hathloul, Saudi women's rights activist, released from prison, her family says". NBC News.
  11. ^ "Loujain al-Hathloul: Saudi women's rights activist released from prison". BBC News. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  12. ^ Dubai, Associated Press in (10 March 2021). "'Another abuse of power' as Saudi court upholds Loujain al-Hathloul's travel ban". the Guardian. Retrieved 17 August 2022.