Samar Badawi

Samar bint Muhammad Badawi (سمر بدوي; born 28 June 1981) is a Saudi Arabian human rights activist.

She and her father filed court cases against each other.

Badawi's father accused her of disobedience under the Saudi Arabian male guardianship system and she charged her father with adhl—"making it hard or impossible for a person, especially a woman, to have what she wants, or what's rightfully hers; e.g, her right to marry" according to Islamic jurisprudence—for refusing to allow her to marry.

In March 2008, she escaped to a women's shelter in Jeddah, the Protection Home.

As her male guardian under the male guardianship system, Badawi's father filed a charge of disobedience against her.

The Saudi Public Prosecutions and Investigation Bureau dropped the charge.

Badawi's father filed another disobedience charge against her in 2009.

Badawi missed some court appearances.

In June, Judge Abdullah al-'Uthaim issued a warrant for her arrest.

In July, she moved from the women's shelter to her brother's home.

A non-judicial investigation by the Protection Home stated that "Badawi's father had beaten and verbally abused her, used drugs, had 14 wives, had exhausted his financial resources, had repeatedly changed jobs, and became friendly with a 'bad group of people.'"

Badawi wished to marry.

Her father refused permission.

Badawi then filed an adhl charge against her father for the refusal to allow her marriage, requesting to remove her father's status as her guardian.

According to Human Rights Watch, Badawi filed the adhl charge against her father after her father had filed the disobedience charge against her.

According to Arab News, Badawi's father filed the disobedience charge as a "counter-suit after" Badawi had filed the adhl charge.

After Badawi missed several trial dates relating to the charge, an arrest warrant was issued for her, and Badawi was imprisoned on 4 April 2010.

In July 2010, Jeddah General Court ruled in Samar Badawi's favor, and she was released on 25 October 2010, and her guardianship was transferred to an uncle.

There had been a local and international support campaign for her release.

The Saudi NGO Human Rights First Society described Badawi's imprisonment as "outrageous illegal detention".

Her mother died prior to October 2010.

When she went to court for the adhl case on 4 April 2010, she was arrested on the basis of the warrant that had been issued for the disobedience charge.

Badawi was held in Briman Prison in Jeddah.

On 18 July 2010, Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud, governor of Makkah Province, proposed creating a committee to "reconcile father and daughter by making him promise not to use violence against her, to allow her to marry, and not to file spurious lawsuits [that] he could not prove."

Also in July 2010, Badawi's father was found guilty in the adhl case by the Jeddah General Court.

In mid-October 2010, the disobedience case against Badawi remained open, and Badawi's father filed an appeal against the result of the adhl case.

On 18 October 2010, the Supreme Judicial Council of Saudi Arabia told Badawi's lawyer Abu al-Khair that it would investigate the legality of both cases.

The Human Rights First Society, a Saudi Arabian human rights NGO, described Badawi's imprisonment as "outrageous illegal detention".

Saudi Arabian and international human rights activists campaigned for Badawi to be released.

Badawi gave a petition to the National Society for Human Rights, a government-linked human rights NGO, asking not to be returned to her father and "easing her path to marriage".

On 25 October 2010, Badawi was released from prison on the orders of Governor Khalid bin Faisal.

An uncle on her father's side became her new male guardian.

Badawi filed a Grievances Board lawsuit against the Ministry of Municipal and Rural affairs for the rejection of her registration for the 2011 municipal elections.

She participated in the 2011–2012 women driving campaign by driving regularly since June 2011 and helping women drivers with police and court procedures.

In November 2011, she and Manal al-Sharif filed charges in the Grievances Board against the Saudi Arabian General Directorate of Traffic for rejecting their applications for drivers' licences.

On 8 March 2012, Badawi was given an award by the United States Department of State for her contributions to women's rights.

In September 2014, Badawi attended a discussion session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, in which she talked about the situation of Human Rights advocates in Saudi Arabia.

In 2018, she was arrested by the Saudi authorities again.

Canada's request for her immediate release sparked a major diplomatic dispute between Canada and Saudi Arabia.

Samar Badawi was allegedly physically abused by her father for 15 years.