Many women consider a trip to the grocery store a hassle, but not May Al Sawyan. The 32-year-old Saudi mother told NPR she was elated to drive to her local supermarket Saturday, Oct. 26. “I just took a small loop,” Al Sawyan “told NPR.”:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=240940124 “I didn’t drive for a long way, but it was fine.”

In a country ruled by the ultraconservative, fundamentalist Wahhabi movement, civil liberties for women are considered a privilege, not a right. Officially, “there is no law”:http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304069604579159383051122064 prohibiting women from getting behind the wheel, but women “don’t”:http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/saudi-women-drive-in-protest-with-little-problem/2013/10/26/d779a5c8-3e72-11e3-a94f-b58017bfee6c_story.html receive driver’s licenses, preventing them from leaving their homes without a male relative or driver. This causes problems for women who do not have the financial means to hire a driver and also for those who do not have a male relative available when they need him.

To express their discontent, 60 women took part in a “drive-in” campaign.

Some who chose not to participate in the campaign feared possible repercussions. One woman “told NBC News,”:http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/26/21174969-saudi-women-flout-ban-on-driving-despite-warnings-activists-say?lite “There are religious fanatics on the Internet telling citizens that it is OK to beat up or even rape women who drive… I think that it’s best just to forget about [driving] for now.”

Saudi clerics “oppose”:http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-365242/ advancements in women’s rights because they fear the simple freedom to drive will lead to acceptance of other taboo behaviors like adultery and premarital sex.

In sharp contrast to a 1990 “protest”:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/26/saudi-women-driving-protest_n_4166555.html by Saudi women, this campaign resulted in no fines or arrests. “I am very happy and proud that there was no reaction against me,” Al Sawyan said in the interview with NPR. As a result, this campaign is a successful step towards achieving the right to drive for Saudi women. Officers were well aware of the campaign before Saturday, and could have set up roadblocks. Despite expectations, however, they did not.

King Abdullah Abdulaziz al Saud “said in 2005”:http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-365431/ that women in his country will drive one day. In response, a government adviser “said”:http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-365431/ the King “wants to do it slowly, slowly.”

Over 80 nations at the U.N. Security Council “applauded”:http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/24/un-praises-saudi-arabia-womens-rights Saudi Arabia for improving the rights of its people. Despite the opposition by the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Czech Republic, “widespread support”:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=240940124 in the international community means that Saudi Arabia is likely to win a seat on the Human Rights Council.

Still, it is important to note that “laws”:http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDQQFjAB&url=http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3693/saudi-arabia-tribal-justice&ei=O191UpuREezIsAT2hYDYBA&usg=AFQjCNHpmySdIsodeWMC9SRbtDmesLi3Sg&sig2=K6YbjoDYYsvSS8WNcQCpyQ&bvm=bv.55819444,d.cWc in Saudi Arabia allow beheading homosexuals, eye gouging, and public flogging.

Women in Saudi Arabia are denied legal protections: They “cannot”:http://news.msn.com/world/witchcraft-arrests-in-saudi-arabia-on-the-rise defend themselves when accused of witchcraft, and they “are not”:http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/21/us-saudi-un-rights-idUSBRE99K0J420131021 provided legal rights for child custody, divorce, marriage or property ownership. The fact that police officers ignored the “drive-in” campaign does not signal a significant shift in the status of women.

Perhaps the “drive-in” campaign foreshadows a future of tolerance, in Saudi Arabia, but instances of prejudice and discrimination suggest that Saudi women and the international must constantly fight for the cause.