Wajeha al-Huwaider
Wajeha al-Huwaider (Arabic: وجيهة الحويدر) is a Saudi activist and writer. She is a co-founder of The Association for the Protection and Defense of Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia.[1]
Al-Huwaider supported the appointment of Norah al-Faiz and added that the Saudi government needs to further the rights of women.[2] Al-Huwaider wrote "Saudi women are weak, no matter how high their status, even the 'pampered' ones among them, because they have no law to protect them from attack by anyone. The oppression of women and the effacement of their selfhood is a flaw affecting most homes in Saudi Arabia."[3] In 2008, she received international media attention when a video of her driving in Saudi Arabia was posted on YouTube; it is illegal for women to drive in Saudi Arabia.[4][5]
A brief period spent in the United States influenced her to become a feminist activist:[6]
Before that, I knew that I'm a human being. However, in the United States I felt it, because I was treated as one. I learned life means nothing without freedom. Then I decided to become a real women's rights activist, in order to free women in my country and to make them feel alive.
The editor of the reform-minded Aafaq compared al-Huwaidar to Rosa Parks.[7]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Women Deliver 100: 26 - 50". Women deliver. 2011. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. http://www.womendeliver.org/knowledge-center/publications/women-deliver-100/women-deliver-100-26-50/. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
- ^ "Saudi activist: Female minister 'first step' but more needed." CNN. 15 February 2009. Retrieved on 15 February 2009.
- ^ "Saudi Writer and Journalist Wajeha Al-Huwaider Fights for Women's Rights". Middle East Media Research Institute. 28 December 2006. http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=ia&ID=IA31206. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ^ "Saudi women make video protest." BBC. Tuesday 11 March 2008. Retrieved on 23 May 2010.
- ^ Setrakian, Lara. "Saudi Woman Drives on YouTube." ABC News. 10 March 2008. Retrieved on 23 May 2010.
- ^ Hiel, Betsy (13 May 2007). "Dhahran women push the veil aside". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/middleeastreports/s_507462.html. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ^ Salman, Omran (17 March 2008). "Wajeha Al-Huwaidar Makes History". Aafaq.org. http://www.aafaq.org/english/aafaq_today.aspx?id_news=146. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
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