Loujain Wins the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize

The selection panel of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, which rewards outstanding civil society action in the defence of human rights in Europe and beyond, announced the shortlist for the 2020 Prize, with all three nominees involved in promoting women’s rights or gender equality.

Loujain Alhathloul (Saudi Arabia)

The nominee is one of the leaders of the Saudi feminist movement. Ms Alhathloul is a prominent womens’ rights activist known for defying the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia and for opposing the Saudi male guardianship system. She has been detained on several occasions, sentenced and has been in prison since 2018.

Adoption by the City of Brussels

The City of Brussels 'adopts' Loujain al-Hathloul and Raif Badawi, 2 prisoners in Saudi Arabia. This double adoption is part of the city's participation in Amnesty International's Ville Lumières label, a network that brings together cities and municipalities that stand up for the freedoms, values ​​and rights that are the basis of democracy.

500 Most Influential Muslims

Loujain has been named among the 500 most influential muslims of 2021

International Civil Rights Museum chooses Loujain for 2021 Trailblaizer recipient

As the Trailblazer Award recipient, Loujain Al-Hathloul will be included in the list of other honorees during this year's ICRCM Fundraising Gala: U.S. Congressman James Clyburn (for the Alston-Jones International Civil and Human Rights Award); attorney and award-winning arthor, Bryan Stevenson (the Unsung Hero Award); the Rev. Julie Peeples (Lifetime Community Service Award; Bennett College alumna, Ingrid Wynn Catlin (Sit-In Participant Award). We are also thrilled to introduce a new award of honor at the 2021 event: For his decades-long commitment to developing community leaders, fostering needed conversations, and bridging activists and institutions, Terence "T.C." Muhammad will be the recipient of the inaugural Keeper of the Flame Award.

Loujain is one of the Three Finalists of the Martin Ennals Award

Each year, the Martin Ennals Award honors human rights defenders from around the world who distinguish themselves by their strong commitment to promoting our fundamental rights - often at the risk of their own lives. In 2021, the Jury nominated three individuals in distinctly authoritarian contexts. “Every year thousands of human rights defenders are persecuted, harassed, imprisoned, even killed.

The Martin Ennals Foundation is honored to celebrate the 2021 Finalists, who have done so much for others and whose stories of adversity are emblematic of the precarity faced by the human rights movement today”, says Isabel de Sola, Director of the Martin Ennals Foundation.

Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize

Members of United States Congress: Suzanne Bonamici, Lois Frankel (D-FL), André Carson (D-IN), Susan Wild (D-PA), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Steve Cohen (D- TN), and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) nominate Loujain for the Nobel Peace Prize.

A group of Norwegian MPs led by Karin Andersen and Dr Katherine Blouin (University of Toronto) nominate Loujain for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Loujain AlHathloul - Awarded the Prix Liberté | Normandie – France

The Freedom Prize is an educational initiative which aims to raise awareness of freedom, peace and Human rights, inspired by the values of the D-Day landings of 6 June 1944, in Normandy. 

The Freedom Prize invites young people aged 15 to 25 from France and around the world to choose an inspiring person or organisation, committed to an exemplary fight for freedom. 

What makes this prize so special is that it involves young people at each of its stages: from the proposals submitted to the international panel of judges to the final selection of the winner.

Organised by the Normandy Region, implemented with the International Institute of Human Rights and Peace, in partnership with the academic authorities of Normandy and the Canopé network, the Freedom Prize pays tribute to all those who have fought and continue to fight for this ideal.

Loujain AlHathloul - Awarded Outstanding Human Rights Activist Award | Sergei Magnitsky Human Rights Award

The Magnitsky Awards are named after the Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, who was murdered in Russian police custody after exposing a massive government corruption scheme. His name has since become synonymous with the Magnitsky Act, which exists to freeze assets and ban the visas of human rights violators worldwide.

The Magnitsky Awards began in 2015 as a way to recognise brave journalists, politicians and activists in the field of human rights. In the past we have awarded individuals such as Boris Nemtsov, Senator John McCain, Jamal Khashoggi, Maria Ressa, Oleg Sentsov, Gulchehra Hoja and Geoffrey Robertson.

The event takes place in London every November to commemorate Sergei Magnitsky’s legacy. The Awards Dinner is attended by journalists, politicians, NGOs and civil society. The ceremony also allows the recipients of these awards the opportunity to point out – to a wide audience – the horrible injustices taking place in the world.

Bertha and Carl Benz Award
City of Mannheim, Germany

Received for Loujain’s relentless fight for women’s rights to mobility which she carried on despite the most serious reprisals. The decision was taken by the city’s council in a closed session on 5 February 2019.

Jury Substantiation

“The opportunity of an independent spatial mobility is vital for a free development and advancement of one’s personality. Loujain Al-Hathloul significantly contributed to the opportunity of Saudi-Arabian women to apply for driving licences and drive cars. A multitude of new perspectives are now available for them which in turn create prospects of a social mobility.”

Statement of Mayor Dr. Peter Kurz

“Her courage and fundamental understanding that mobility is an obvious part of human freedom and that it should be granted without discrimination to all human beings accordingly, induced the jury to recommend Loujain Al-Hathloul for the Bertha- and-Carl-Benz-Award. She struggled in an exceptional manner for values which are especially significant for the city of Mannheim with its self-image as a cosmopolitan city in which all citizens independent of their origin, religion and gender are participating in social life. Within this dimension of mobility the underlying meaning of Loujain Al-Hathloul’s engagement becomes especially obvious.”

Doctor Honoris Causa
Faculty of Economic, Social and Political Sciences and Communication
Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium

Vincent Blondel, Rector of the Université Catholique de Louvain

Whereas Ms. Al-Hathloul, born on July 31, 1989, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is animated by a profound desire to change the conditions of women and children in Saudi Arabia, and has dedicated her life to this fight. Whereas She was a social science research student at Paris-Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi at the time of her arrest in May 2019.

Whereas Ms. Al-Hathloul was at the initiative of the association Amina which means serene / safe in Arabic, and which aims to open a shelter, to women victims of domestic violence.

Whereas she has been involved in the fight against the guardianship system imposed on women, and for the protection of women victims of domestic violence. Whereas she put her proficiency of public communication in favor of the cause of Saudi women, despite the high risks of reprisals.

Whereas Ms. Al-Hahtloul was ranked no°3 of the 100 most influential Arab women in 2015, in the category "culture and society". That she was awarded the Bertha-und-Carl-Benz 2019 Prize by the city of Mannheim (Germany) for her fight for the right of Saudi women.

Whereas Ms. Al-Hathloul is since 2017 an ambassador of the “Global Compact”, which goal is to build stable and inclusive societies. That she was in 2016 ambassador of "One Young World", a global talent forum aimed at accelerating the social impact.

Whereas her activism has been recognized by many civil society and political leaders, leading to her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.

For all these reasons, under the powers conferred upon us, we appoint and proclaim Ms. Loujain Al-Hathloul Honorary Doctor of the Faculty of Economic, Social, Political and Communication Sciences.

PEN America Barbey Freedom to write award
United States of America

PEN America honored imprisoned writers Nouf Abdulaziz, Loujain Al-Hathloul, and Eman Al-Nafjan with the 2019 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award.

“PEN AMERICA TO HONOR IMPRISONED SAUDI WRITER-ACTIVISTS AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS CHAMPIONS NOUF ABDULAZIZ, LOUJAIN AL-HATHLOUL, AND EMAN AL-NAFJAN WITH THE PEN/BARBEY FREEDOM TO WRITE AWARD AT 2019 LITERARY GALA, NEW YORK”

Saudi Arabia and its de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, have been at the center of a global controversy following the gruesome murder and dismemberment of Saudi journalist, Washington Post columnist, and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi last fall at the hands of government agents inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. His brazen killing was a vivid illustration of the depraved indifference of the Saudi government to international norms regarding press freedom, free expression and the right to dissent. This year’s honourees likewise attest to the Saudi government’s ready resort to intimidation and brutality to stifle those who challenge the government or demand human rights. In June 2018 when the driving ban was lifted, Saudi officials initiated a systematic wave of repression and imprisoned many who had championed the reforms; several dozen activists were arrested without formal charge or access to lawyers, and at least 10 remain in prison under harsh conditions. Some have reportedly been subjected to sexual harassment, electric shock treatment, waterboarding, and flogging during interrogations. Al-Hathloul and Al-Nafjan were not shown the charges against them and were not allowed to consult with their lawyers in advance of their 13 March 2019 court appearances.

“The fleeting hope that generational transition in the Saudi leadership would open the door toward greater respect for individual rights and international law has collapsed entirely, with individuals paying the highest price as the government resorts to rank barbarism as a blunt means to suppress and deter dissent,” said Suzanne Nossel, Chief Executive Officer of PEN America. “These gutsy women have challenged one of the world’s most notoriously misogynist governments, inspiring the world with their demand to drive, to govern their own lives, and to liberate all Saudi women from a form of medieval bondage that has no place in the 21st century. We are proud to honor these drivers of change—Nouf Abdulaziz, Loujain Al-Hathloul, and Eman Al-Nafjan—for their fearless words and actions, and to send a strong signal that international pressure on the Saudi Kingdom to respect dissent and adhere to international norms of free expression will not relent.”(…)

Loujain Al-Hathloul has a long history of women’s rights activism and is one of the most outspoken human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia, primarily via commentary on social media. She gained notoriety for campaigning against the driving ban, including posting videos of herself driving as part of a 2013 campaign, and has advocated for an end to the male guardianship system. In 2014 she was arrested and detained for 73 days for defying the driving ban; she was detained again in 2017 for uncertain reasons and released days later. In May 2018, she was arrested at her home. Around the same time, her husband, Fahad AlButairi, a comedian and fellow critic of the Saudi government, was arrested in 2017 while in Jordan, and returned to SaudiArabia, where he was reportedly released.

Foreign Policy named Loujain AlHathloul one of the 100 Global Thinkers of 2011.

TIME 100 Most Influential People

“The Saudi people owe a huge debt of gratitude to Loujain al-Hathloul. When Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman promised to modernize the kingdom, the most celebrated change, allowing women to drive in June 2018, was built on the fearless, long term efforts of activists like Loujain. She was among the first to challenge laws that are out of touch with Saudi Arabia’s young majority population, boldly posting videos of herself driving, running for the country’s first municipal elections to allow women in 2015, and signing the 14,000-strong petition urging an end to restrictions on women’s rights to marry or travel outside the country without a male guardian’s permission. Unfortunately activism also revealed the crown prince’s intolerance for civil society. Saudi authorities have jailed Loujain, along with other women activists, over and over again to silence them. In fact, Loujain should be thanked and embraced by the kingdom for what she is: a model of Saudi womanhood.”

The author, Sarah Leah Whitson, is the former executive director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch.

“Gender Equality Top 100: The Most Influential Women in Global Policy - Apolitical

Loujain was named in the top 20 of most influential women in Global Policy.

Loujain al-Hathloul is a Saudi activist, and an important figure in a Saudi women's movement that helped fight for reforms such as the June 2018 law change that gave women the right to drive. In 2015 she ran for her country's first municipal elections to allow women, and she has also campaigned for women's right to travel unchaperoned. Al-Hathloul has since attracted international attention in more difficult circumstances, having been jailed alongside other activists in a crackdown on dissent. 

Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize

Professors and lawmakers nominated Loujain Al-Hathloul for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.

Hélène Laverdière (MP, Canada), Karin Andersen, Kari Elisabeth Kaski, and Høyres Heidi Nordby (MPs, Norway), and Professors at the Sorbonne University, Paris France wrote an article calling for Loujain’s nomination to the Nobel Peace Prize.

Citoyenne d'honneur de la Ville de Paris | Paris, France

“Loujain Al-Hathloul, Saudi Human rights defender, is an Honorary Citizen of the City of Paris. Loujain Al-Hathloul, a twenty nine-year-old activist and a leading figure in the combat for human rights in Saudi Arabia, has committed herself boldly to end the prohibition for women to drive, the strict system of male guardianship and to protect women victims of domestic violence. 

In May 2018, the Saudi authorities arrested her, and she was tortured during 10 months of arbitrary confinement. She was put in trial with ten other female activists in the Riyadh Court of penal justice 13 March 2019. Accused of giving information to foreign entities, among them human rights NGOs and of representing a danger to Saudi Arabia’s security and stability, she could be sentenced to five years of jail and a fine of three millions of Saudi riyals. 

Since 2017 she has been named young ambassador for United Nations “Global Compact”, she has been awarded the PEN America Price for freedom of speech., and was nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. The European Parliament passed a resolution calling for her immediate release and the release of other imprisoned activists.

Loujain Al-Hathloul was made Honorary Citizen of the City of Paris in June 14, 2019.”