(Vox) — "In September, Saudi Arabia lifted a long-running national policy that banned women from driving. Overnight, Saudi Arabian women took a small if significant step toward equality.
The lift on the restriction has been cited as an example of the modernization efforts of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (The crown prince is also busily consolidated power: A state anti-corruption committee arrested a group of high-powered ministers and businessmen last week.) But activist women have been campaigning for the right to drive for years. Though driving by women is not technically illegal, it has been banned in practice. Many have risked arrest and imprisonment by defiantly driving and using social media to bring attention to the cause.
Manal al-Sharif is an activist at the forefront of this movement […]"