First lady Michelle Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pose with Samar Badawi of Saudi Arabia as she receives the 2012 International Women of Courage Award in 2012. Photo: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images
Two women's rights activists are free, nearly three years after Saudi Arabia arrested them during a government crackdown on dissent, the London-based Saudi rights group ALQST announced on Sunday.
Why it matters: The international community condemned the detention of Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sadah back in summer 2018.
- Badawi and Sadah had campaigned for women to have the right to drive and to end the country's male guardianship system. They were among at least a dozen other women’s rights activists to face prosecution during that time.
- In 2012, Badawi received the International Women of Courage Award, which was presented to her by then-first lady Michelle Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
- Badawi's sister is the writer Raif Badawi, who was publicly lashed and arrested in 2012 for critical blog posts about Saudi clerics.