In the Musawah ReSisters series, we highlight the women who played a pivotal role during the early days of Musawah and whose work has continued to shape our movement until today.
Dr. Hatoon al-Fassi
Dr. Hatoon al‐Fassi is a Saudi Arabian scholar and historian, an associate professor of women's history at King Saud University. Furthermore, she is a women's rights activist who has fought for Saudi women's right to vote and drive; she was one of the first women to acquire a Saudi driving license. She has also been an active part of building Musawah as an Advocate, from its early days of conceptual workshops to helping other activists around the world to fight for women's rights from within Islamic traditions. She was arrested in 2018 just days before the Saudi government lifted the ban on women driving. While in prison, she was awarded the 2018 Academic Freedom Award by the Middle East Studies Association of North America.
Messages from Musawah Advocates
Hatoon has been imprisoned for over 300 days since mid-2018.
On International Women’s Day 2019, Musawah Advocates, activists and scholars from around the world share their messages of love, support and solidarity for Hatoon.
Zainah Anwar
Musawah Executive Director
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Dr. Amira Sonbol
Professor Faculty,
Georgetown University
Dr. Mulki al-Sharmani
Musawah,
University of Helsinki
Dr. amina wadud
Professor of Islam and Qur’an,
Musawah affiliate
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Mussurut Zia
Huda Jawad
Sarah Marsso
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Poetry: India Radfar
Courtesy of Muslims for Progressive Values
Muslims for Progressive Values
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Norhayati Kaprawi
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Selected Works by Hatoon
Dr. Hatoon Al Fassi wrote in the Al Riyadh newspaper about her experience being in Indonesia for a Musawah Outreach Strategy meeting with Alimat-Indonesia in August 2010.
Al-Fassi, Hatoon. Women in Eastern Arabia: Myth and Representation, in Gulf Women, ed. Amira El-Azhary Sonbol. 2012.