Last summer, dozens of women across Saudi Arabia took to the streets and did something no Saudi woman had dared to do in over 20 years: They went for a drive. One of the women behind the wheel, Shaima Jastaniah, was sentenced to ten lashes for her crimes. The king pardoned her via his wife’s Twitter account the very next day. But then the Jeddah police department informed her that – pardon or not – they would be lashing her anyway.
This Monday, the police announced that they have reversed the decision yet again. Jastaniah, it appears, has been offered a reprieve. To help make sense of this legal roller coaster ride and explain its implications for the future of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, we’re joined from Riyadh by Eman Al Nafjan. She’s a proponent of the women’s driving movement and the author of Saudiwoman’s Weblog.