Dissident Spotlight: Loujain Al-Hathloul
Loujain Al-Hathloul is a Saudi Arabian dissident who fought for women's right to drive and was charged with "agitating for change."

For decades, Saudi activists have fought for basic rights for women. They include everything from the right to work without their husbands’ permission to the right to drive.
Loujain Al-Hathloul was one of the key activists who fought for the right of Saudi women to drive. Mohammed bin Salman announced that allowing women to drive was consistent with Sharia law on September 17, 2017. The first driver’s licenses were issued to Saudi women on June 24, 2018. So on the surface, the movement appeared successful.
However, years of hardline opposite to female drivers put activists like Al-Hathloul in danger. CNN reported one activist in 2011 who filmed herself driving through Saudi Arabia and was jailed for nine days. In 2014, Al-Hathloul participated in a similar protest and was “detained for 73 days.”
But in 2018, her current imprisonment began.
Loujain Al-Hathloul’s Arrest and Imprisonment
The precise reasoning behind Al-Hathloul’s May 2018 arrest remains unclear. Al-Hathloul was studying in the United Arab Emirates when she was arrested and repatriated to Saudi Arabia.
Regardless, Al-Hathloul was imprisoned for over two years where she was placed in solitary confinement, tortured, and sexually assaulted. She wouldn’t have a trial until December 2020. During that time, she refused to sign statements denying torture had taken place. Even though prison officials dangled her freedom as a trade, Al-Hathloul stayed in solitary confinement instead.
On December 28, 2021, Al-Hathloul was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison. The deal included a suspension and time served since May 2018. She was finally released on February 10, 2022 after enduring the abuse of prison and the arbitrary Saudi justice system.
Even though her ban on traveling ended in October 2023, Al-Hathloul has been unable to leave the country. She remains on house arrest.
A Warning from Loujain’s Sister
In 2021, a Saudi Arabian investment fund bought 80% of Newcastle, a UK soccer team. In an interview with i, Lina Al-Hathloul, Loujain’s sister living in Belgium, had a warning for Newcastle:
“It is important for Newcastle fans to understand how dangerous it can get when Saudi money is involved,” Hathloul [told] i. “I want them to realise they still have power and leverage over Saudi policies and that they shouldn’t accept being muzzled in exchange for Saudi money – that they can still speak up against Saudi Arabia’s violations.”
She went on to speculate about the possibility of Saudi Arabia buying a stadium and refusing entry to soccer fans who don’t tow Saudi Arabia’s line on key issues. If that sounds far-fetched, remember that Loujain was detained on terrorism charges for driving while female. Her charge read “agitating for change.”
i ended its interview with Lina with this quote:
“I’m exaggerating but this is, I think, what they’d like to do if they could. They [Saudi officials] don’t like dissent. They want to control.”
Awards, Work, and Updates
Driving wasn’t the only right that Al-Hathloul fought for. She also campaigned against Saudi Arabia’s guardianship laws, which require women to secure a male guardian’s approval for basic rights like:
Marry
Divorce
Seek education
Obtain healthcare
Leave prison once a sentence is completed
Loujain Al-Hathloul won the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize in 2019 for “outstanding civil society action in defense of human rights.” She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 and 2020. Al-Hathloul also won the 2019 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award.
A non-profit keeps track of the milestones in Loujains case here. Her sister, Lina, has also released a children’s book called Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers, which tells the story of a young girl learning to fly in a country where only boys are allowed to.