Saudi Arabia's permission for women to travel without the permission of a guardian, while activists demanding these rights in jails, is a sign of schizophrenia in the kingdom's politics.
Anthony Harwood, the author of the article, said the move was part of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's efforts to attract foreign investment and present himself to the world as a reformer seeking to fight Wahhabi thought and put Saudi society on the path of modernity.
Saudi Arabia announced amendments to laws on women last week that would allow women over the age of 21 to travel without the need for guardian permission, among other amendments to laws limiting women's freedom.
According to the writer, the amendment, which comes a year after women were allowed to drive, came at a time when five human rights activists who have campaigned for such reforms have been jailed, tortured and ill-treated for more than a year, suggesting that policymakers have suffered from schizophrenia. .
He said Saudi activist Jane Hathloul, who was arrested after she posted a video on her Twitter account driving three months before the decision, which allows women to drive, remains behind bars and is not allowed to communicate with her more than 300,000 followers.
He said that if she were free now, she would have undoubtedly exposed the truth of the alleged reforms and would see only a public relations campaign to cover up deeper human rights violations by the bin Salman regime.
He pointed out that bin Salman's efforts to present himself as a reformist ruler of the kingdom have failed, given the bad reputation he has gained following the brutal killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the war in Yemen and the repeated stories of the escape of Saudi minors.
Harwood attributed the sensitivity of the Saudi regime to criticism of the kingdom's record in the field of rights and freedoms to the work of bin Salman to establish for himself the image of the reformer who has not succeeded in marketing so far.
He said that this sensitivity explains the Kingdom's overreaction to the call of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to release human rights activist Sama al-Badawi, who is still being held hostage so far. The Saudi response included expelling diplomats, withdrawing Saudi investments, halting commercial deals and canceling flights Among other actions.
He added that the amendments announced by Saudi Arabia so far on laws that are unfair to women do not meet the aspirations of activists such as Lujain Al-Hathloul and her colleagues in prison who are demanding to amend all guardianship laws and not just a small part of them.