Latifa Al Shaalan

One of 30 women appointed to Saudi’s Shura Council in January 2013, Latifa Al Shaalan made headlines last year as part of a group that filed a recommendation to lift a ban on women driving. Saudi women have “made many achievements… and have acquired leading positions in the government and the UN, yet they are still banned from driving. This creates a negative image abroad,” she told AFP. It is down to the country’s Transport Ministry to decide whether the recommendation is put into effect.