Loujain al-Hathloul facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Loujain al-Hathloul
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| لجين الهذلول | |
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| Born | 31 July 1989 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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| Alma mater | University of British Columbia |
| Known for | Defying female driving ban in Saudi Arabia |
| Spouse(s) |
Fahad Albutairi
(m. 2014; div. 2019) |
| Family | Lina al-Hathloul (sister) |
| Awards | Václav 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.
For her women's rights activism, Al-Hathloul was awarded the 2019 PEN America /Barbey Freedom to Write Award and the 2020 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize. She was one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People of 2019". She was released from prison on 10 February 2021, but lives under a travel ban.
Early life and education
She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia.
Women's rights activism (2014–2017)
Al-Hathloul is known both for her role in the women to drive movement and in opposing the Saudi male guardianship system. On 1 December 2014, she was arrested and detained for 73 days after an attempt to cross the border in her car from the UAE to Saudi Arabia, on charges related to defying the female driving ban in the kingdom. She has a UAE license but the Saudi police still arrested her. Al-Hathloul attempted to stand in Saudi local elections in December 2015, the first vote in Saudi Arabia to include women, but was barred.
In September 2016, along with 14,000 others, al-Hathloul signed a petition to King Salman asking for the male guardianship system to be abolished. On 4 June 2017, she was arrested and detained at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. The reason for the arrest was not officially disclosed, although Amnesty International believed it was for her human rights activism, and al-Hathloul was not allowed access to a lawyer or any contact with her family.
Recognition
She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2017.
Al-Hathloul was ranked third in the "Top 100 Most Powerful Arab Women 2015" list. In March 2019, PEN America announced that Nouf Abdulaziz, al-Hathloul, and Eman al-Nafjan would receive the 2019 PEN America/Barbey Freedom to Write Award. Al-Hathloul was named one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People of 2019".
Al-Hathloul was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 and 2020. In April 2021, she was announced as the winner of the 2020 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize.
The children's book Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers: A Story Inspired by Loujain Alhathloul, written by Lina Alhathloul and Uma Mishra-Newbery and illustrated by Rebecca Green, was published by minedition in 2022.
See also
In Spanish: Loujain Alhathloul para niños
