Loujain Al Hathloul is one such woman, whose defiance of the Saudi Arabian driving ban for women led to her imprisonment, subsequent release, and a raising of the controversial topic at home in the GCC and around the rest of the world.

Al Hathloul was arrested along with Maysaa Al Amoudi and referred to a terrorism court in the Saudi capital of Riyadh last December. She was taken in by police when she attempted to drive from the UAE into Saudi Arabia, with Al Amoudi arrested when she went to the border to support her, according to reports.

The driver’s large social media following had been following her journey before the arrest, as Al Hathloul was tweeting regular updates as she got closer to the border.

Having been arrested on 1 December, the women were freed this February, prompting Al Hathloul to tweet for the first time since her arrest. “Peace be upon you, good people,” she wrote.