Saudi Arabia Releases Two Women Drivers From Jail

Loujain Al Hathloul and Maysaa Al Amoudi Challenged Country’s Female Driving Ban

In March 2014 some of Saudi Arabia's women defied a ban on women driving.
In March 2014 some of Saudi Arabia's women defied a ban on women driving. Photo: Associated Press

AL AHSA, Saudi Arabia—Saudi Arabia on Thursday released two women who were held since December for challenging the country’s ban on female drivers.

Loujain Al Hathloul and Maysaa Al Amoudi were released from a jail in the eastern region of Al Ahsa after 72 days in detention. Ms. Hathloul’s lawyer confirmed her release on Twitter . Ms. Amoudi’s husband confirmed her release in a message to The Wall Street Journal.

“Praise be to Allah, who thanks to Him graces last,” Ms. Amoudi posted on Instagram under a drawing of a girl standing in a green field and raising her hands to the sky. “Thank God after all.”

Ms. Amoudi, a 33-year-old journalist who lives in the neighboring United Arab Emirates, on Dec. 1 drove to the border of Saudi Arabia to support friend Ms. Hathloul, 25, who tried to cross the border in her car one day earlier.

Activists say Ms. Amoudi didn’t intend to enter the country and that she only drove to the border to offer Ms. Hathloul support and some supplies like a toothbrush. However, both women were taken into custody and shortly moved into detention in Al Ahsa. It was unclear why the two women were released.

The release of Ms. Amoudi and Ms. Hathoul comes three weeks after new King Salman ascended the throne, and could potentially end fears among activists that the case would be referred to a specialized court that typically handles terrorism cases.

King Salman’s late predecessor, King Abdullah, was praised as a reformer who appointed women to the consultative Shoura Council and offered them more opportunities for education and employment. However, women in the country continue to live under male guardianship rules and are forbidden from driving. Saudi Arabia is the only country that forbids women drivers.

Despite the fact that no law explicitly prohibits women from driving in Saudi Arabia, the government has refused to grant them licenses. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry reaffirmed the ban last October and warned that strong measures would be taken against anyone who disrupts social harmony.

Saudi women have in recent years pushed to lift the decadeslong ban on women driving in the country, using social media to spread their message and designating driving days, but these effort have yet to succeed. While the police continue to stop those who defy the ban, the detention of Ms. Amoudi and Ms. Hathloul was the first since 2011.

Organizers of the “26 October” campaign for women’s rights said in a statement following the arrests that it will continue to push for lifting the ban. “Women driving is only one demand from a bundle of demands that all citizens have been denied,” they said.

Write to Ahmed Al Omran at Ahmed.AlOmran@wsj.com

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