Hala Al Dosari is a scholar and activist from Saudi Arabia now based in the United States. Her writings and research explore the social determinants of women’s health, violence against women, and women’s rights and human rights across the Arab Gulf States. She serves as an advisory board member for Human Rights Watch for the Middle East and North Africa region and the Gulf Center for Human Rights.

In today’s special episode, made in collaboration with WHRDMENA Coalition, Amal will interview Hala about her experience in Saudi Arabia.

Hala will open up from how was growing up in the 80s, at a time where there was enforced gender segregation in public places as well as in educational places, to what motivated her to become an activist in favor of gender equality in the country.

She will talk about the campaigns she’s been part of, the origin of the campaign against the driving ban, but also about the educational limits and professional barriers that she as a woman faced in Saudi Arabia.

If you would like to read some of Hala’s work, check out her blog here (Arabic).

If you would like to get a better understanding or deepen your knowledge on Saudi Arabia, especially on the topic of women's rights, check out our list of recommended readings here.

Music credits: Blur And Coalesce by Podington Bear, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.