The final straw came last summer, when she read reports that a female activist in Saudi Arabia’s eastern province, Wajeha al-Huwaider, had been to the border with Bahrain, demanding to cross using only her passport, without a male chaperon or a male guardian’s written permission. Ms. Huwaider was not allowed to leave the country unaccompanied and, like other Saudi women campaigning for new rights, has failed – so far – to change any existing laws or customs. But Ms. Yousef is still outraged, and since August has taken on activists at their own game. With 15 other women, she started a campaign, ‘My Guardian Knows What’s Best for Me. Within two months, they had collected more than 5,400 signatures on a petition ‘rejecting the ignorant requests of those inciting liberty and demanding ‘punishments for those who call for equality between men and women, mingling between men and women in mixed environments, and other unacceptable behaviors. Ms. Yousef’s fight against the would-be liberalizers symbolizes a larger tussle in Saudi society over women’s rights that has suddenly made the female factor a major issue for reformers and conservatives striving to shape Saudi Arabia’s future. Public separation of the […]