Saudi women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul has been released from Saudi jail after pressure was applied to the government to release her. Al-Hathloul—the UBC alumnus at the centre of the #StudentsForLoujain campaign—spent 1,001 days in jail. Saudi public prosecution said in a statement that al-Hathloul and others were arrested for being involved in “coordinated and organized activities… that aim to undermine the Kingdom’s security, stability and national unity.”
This comes within days of the US government calling for the release of all Saudi women’s rights activists. Al-Hathloul was allegedly beaten and tortured while incarcerated; the Saudi government denies these claims.
Three UBC student societies—the Graduate Student Society, the Students’ Union UBC Okanagan, and the Alma Matter Society (AMS)—are running the #StudentsForLoujain campaign, which the Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) and 18 other Canadian student societies, as well as the British Columbia Federation of Students and the Alliance of BC Students, have joined.
CCSS external executive Quinn Cunningham says he was happy to hear of al-Hathloul’s release, but that stipulations surrounding her release—media outlets are reporting that her family has said that she is subject to a five-year travel ban and probation for three years, during which time she is forbidden from speaking to the media, using social media, and continuing her women’s rights activism—are of concern to him.
“Seeing that there’s a travel ban that she still faces and some other things that limit her mobility is still concerning,” he says.
Cunningham says he’s hoping to see all charges pardoned and all travel bans lifted for al-Hathloul.
“I personally feel that way,” he says, “and I believe that the campaign that we also signed on to is advocating for that as well.”
AMS vice president of external affairs Kalith Nanayakkara says that he was surprised to hear of al-Hathloul’s release, but that it speaks to the power of public awareness.
“When we first heard of [the release], we had to do some more digging to make sure that this was the correct information,” he says, “and we were absolutely just excited, happy, and just in awe.”
Canada needs to play a much larger role on the international stage, says Nanayakkara.
“We had hundreds of thousands of students get together and tell the Canadian government that more needs to be done, that Loujain needs to be released,” he says.
Even though the government didn’t respond to the December 10, 2020 letter to federal minister of foreign affairs François-Philippe Champagne sent by the three UBC studeng groups, says Nanayakkara, the biggest takeaway for AMS was how much power campaigns and public awareness can have.
“Hopefully this will be the last time that we need to pull a campaign like this, but knowing that there’s a lot that needs to be done—especially in countries like Saudi Arabia—we’re going to continue to advocate that the Canadian government plays a larger role on the international stage,” he says.
Cunningham says that a cabinet shuffle in the federal government around the time that the CCSS signed onto the campaign is not an excuse for the federal government to ignore matters like this.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for the government not to respond to such a thing,” says Cunningham.
Keeping up with the speed of how fast things were changing and the amount of information involved was difficult throughout the campaign, says Nanayakkara, and not getting stronger support from the government didn’t help.
“That was definitely a challenge we weren’t able to overcome,” he says.
AMS has not yet spoken with al-Hathloul. They want to give her time to settle back into society and adjust to life, but Nanayakkara thanks al-Hathloul for her endurance “in fighting for a better world.” He also wants to ask her specifically if there is anything more that can be done for her.
“I would thank her for being an inspiration,” he says, “and for allowing us to see how much more work needs to be done.”
Cunningham hopes that al-Hathloul is able to continue her work for women’s rights after this traumatizing experience.
“She’s incredibly resilient for surviving such a situation for so long.”
A letter on the #StudentsForLoujain website says that the campaign is celebrating her release but due to the travel ban those involved in the campaign “will continue to advocate for justice for Loujain until she is free and not subject to injustice.”
See studentsforloujain.ca for more information.