Uploaded October 2020 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
For much of her life, Nassima campaigned for women’s freedom in Saudi Arabia. In doing so, she’s lost her own. She was one of several prominent activists demanding women’s right to drive and the right to carry out their daily business without the permission of a male “guardian”. Saudi Arabia’s guardianship laws required women to seek a man’s permission to go out, and other basic needs. While these laws have been eased in recent months, the women who have campaigned to end the guardianship system remain behind bars. Nassima was arrested for her peaceful human rights work in July 2018. While in jail, she was tortured. She was placed in a cell alone, in complete isolation from other detainees from February 2019 to February 2020. She is allowed one weekly phone call with her family, but no visits, not even from her lawyer.
For much of her life, Nassima campaigned for women’s freedom in Saudi Arabia. In doing so, she’s lost her own. She was one of several prominent activists demanding women’s right to drive and the right to carry out their daily business without the permission of a male “guardian”. Saudi Arabia’s guardianship laws required women to seek a man’s permission to go out, and other basic needs. While these laws have been eased in recent months, the women who have campaigned to end the guardianship system remain behind bars. Nassima was arrested for her peaceful human rights work in July 2018. While in jail, she was tortured. She was placed in a cell alone, in complete isolation from other detainees from February 2019 to February 2020. She is allowed one weekly phone call with her family, but no visits, not even from her lawyer.
