Saudi Arabia woman arrested at border for defying drive ban: activists

ABC News picked up this story from AFP. A link to the story is here and the text is below.
The story is dated December 1 2014.

A Saudi Arabian woman who tried to drive into the kingdom in defiance of a ban has been arrested after being blocked at the United Arab Emirates border, activists say.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that does not allow women to drive.
"I have been at the Saudi border for 24 hours. They don't want to give me my passport nor will they let me pass," Loujain Hathloul said in a Tweet.
Activists said she was arrested at the border with the UAE on Monday afternoon, but the interior ministry could not immediately comment on her case.
Another woman, UAE-based Saudi journalist Maysaa Alamoudi, who went to support her, was also arrested, an activist said.
"They transferred her and Maysaa... to the bureau of investigation" at a Saudi police station, said the activist who asked for anonymity.
Neither of the women answered phone calls from AFP.
Activists said border officers blocked Ms Hathloul because she was driving, and asked her to wait until they received "orders from their superiors".

If someone brings me a horse or a camel to the border, maybe then I'll be allowed to pass.  - Loujain Hathloul

"The customs [department] have no right to prevent me from entering even if in their opinion I am 'a violator' because I am Saudi," Ms Hathloul tweeted on Monday morning.
She said her driving licence "is valid in all GCC countries", a reference to the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council which includes Saudi Arabia.
Ms Hathloul also posted details about her long confinement in her car.
Six hours into her wait she had said she was "optimistic", and joked: "If someone brings me a horse or a camel to the border, maybe then I'll be allowed to pass."
An activist who spoke to AFP said Ms Hathloul was trying to make a point in her unusual attempt to drive through the border.
"She knew that they wouldn't let her pass," the activist said.
In October, dozens of women drove in the kingdom and posted images of themselves doing so as part of an online campaign supporting the right to drive.
In response, the interior ministry said it would "strictly implement" measures against anyone undermining "the social cohesion".
Women drivers have previously been arrested and cars have been confiscated, according to activists.
They said women's driving is not actually illegal, and the ban was linked to tradition and custom in the Islamic nation.
AFP