Saudis crack down on activists for women's driving rights

A female activist who is leading the fight to give Saudi women the right to drive is going to be held in detention for at least 10 more days after she defied the ban.

Manal al-Sherif, a 32-year-old information-technology expert, is accused of "violating public order." She started a Facebook campaign urging Saudi women to get behind the wheel to protest the longtime driving ban and did so herself, posting the video on the Internet and launched an online campaign urging Saudi Arabian women to stage a mass driving protest on June 17, the Associated Press reports. She was arrested Sunday.

The AP says Saudi rulers have cracked down harder than usual on al-Sherif, after seeing her case become a rallying call for youths anxious for change. At present, women have to depend on male drivers, like the woman in the photo above, when they travel by car.

On Thursday, the prosecutor general of the Eastern Province extended her detention for another 10 days while an investigation is in progress, said lawyer Waleed Aboul Khair.

"This is a message that any woman who dares to drive her car will face the same destiny," Aboul Khair said. Her arrest has drawn criticism from international and local rights groups and has spurred more women to drive and post videos of themselves behind the wheel.