Souad Al-Shammari, also transcribed as Souad Al-Shammary, and Suad Al-Shammari (, born July 5, 1966) is a Saudi Arabian women's rights activist. She is well known for her opposition to Saudi Arabia's guardianship system which subordinates women's

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

to the authority of male guardians. She has taken part in campaigns to lift the ban on women driving cars in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. She is also the head of the Saudi Arabian Liberals Network, which is a network of

activists Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

peacefully calling for social and political reform and was associated with the activism of blogger and journalist

Raif Badawi Raif bin Muhammad Badawi (, also transcribed Raef bin Mohammed Badawi; born 13 January 1984) is a Saudi writer, dissident and activist, as well as the creator of the website ''Free Saudi Liberals''. Badawi was arrested in 2012 on a charge of ...

, co-founding the Saudi Liberal Network, and helped his wife

Ensaf Haidar Ensaf Haidar (; born 1975) is a Saudi-Canadian human rights activist. Born in Jizan, Saudi Arabia, Haidar is the wife of Raif Badawi, a Saudi writer, dissident and activist who was sentenced to ten years in prison and 1000 lashes in 2014. She ...

and their three children leave the country to avoid Raif's father claiming custody of them due to Raif's arrest. Al-Shammari was detained without charge on 28 October 2014 after a four-hour interrogation session at the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

and released on 29 January 2015 after signing a pledge to stop or "reduce" her activism.

References

Saudi Arabian feminists Living people 1966 births {{SaudiArabia-bio-stub

See also

References