S Arabia arrests two more women’s rights activists

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia has arrested two more women’s rights activists, the latest to be swept up in a government crackdown on activists, clerics and journalists, an international rights group said on Wednesday.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said authorities arrested Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sadah in the past two days. More than a dozen women’s rights activists have been targeted since May.

Most campaigned for the right to drive and an end to the kingdom’s male guardianship system, which requires women to obtain the consent of a male relative for major decisions. The arrests are at odds with the progressive image the government has projected this year under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Government spokesmen did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest reports. Badawi has received the United States’ International Women of Courage Award in 2012 for challenging the guardianship system, and was among the first women who signed a petition calling on the government to allow women to drive, vote and run in local elections. Sadah, from the restive Qatif province, has also campaigned to abolish the guardianship system and the right to drive.