Fawzia al-Otaibi

Fawzia al-Otaibi (فوزیہ العتیبی) is a Saudi Arabian women's rights activist.

Biography Fawzia al-Otaibi is a Saudi Arabian women's rights activist.

In 2016, al-Otabibi and her sisters, Maryam and Manahel, began campaigning against the male guardianship system in Saudi Arabia, posting online using the hashtag #IAmMyOwnGuardian. A few days later, al-Otaibi and her sister Maryam were arrested. Manahel posted about their arrest online and this went viral internationally, prompting their release from prison. She fled the country, firstly to Bahrain and then to Turkey. When the Police realised that she was not going to attend the station for questioning, she was issued with a travel ban. Manahel was arrested. She has been denied family contact, has been placed in solitary confinement and her leg has been broken.

al-Otaibi moved to Edinburgh, Scotland in 2023. She has told the organisation that she believes the only reason her sister was finally permitted a phone call was to convey a message to her family to stop being publicly outspoken about her imprisonment. She fears that her other sister, Maryam, could be arrested at any moment.

She was named a BBC 100 Women in 2024.