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It is in Saudi Arabia's best interest to allow women to fully participate in its society, and this includes the right to vote and run for office.

On the whole, it is the rights and freedoms of all citizens that are crucial in Saudi Arabia and from those the rights of women will emanate.

In effect, Saudi Arabia legitimizes fundamentalism, religious discrimination, intolerance and the oppression of women. Saudi women not only can't drive, but are also told by some clerics that they mustn't wear seatbelts for fear of showing the outlines of their bodies.

It doesn't have to be a mountain you have to be climbing. I hope to change people's opinion about Saudi in general and Saudi women and Saudi women's opinion about themselves. I really hope they can step out of their comfort zone and just dream: try to push your limits.

But Saudi Arabia is surprising in a lot of ways. Like any place, or any people, it relentlessly defies easy categorization.

The way women today are treated in Saudi Arabia is a direct result of the education our children, boys and girls, receive at school.

The Saudi government's denial of basic rights to women is not only wrong, it hurts Saudi Arabia's economic development, modernization and prosperity.

Growing up, I was taught that a woman should lower her gaze so that men could never know her thoughts. The so-called modesty of Arab women is, in fact, a war tactic.

On campuses, where Liberal softies still rule with an iron fist, feminism is as safe as a city with no women drivers. That is the only thing I support about Saudi Arabia, by the way.

I would like the world to know that Yemeni women are strong, and if empowered, they can achieve. The world needs to look beyond stereotypes and dress code. In our hearts, we are just human beings who want to live a dignified life. Is that too much to ask for?