Saudi women scholars call out prince's reform agenda NEWS / MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN Saudi women were fighting for the right to drive since 1990 OPINION Muslim feminism beyond driving by Rafia Zakaria OPINION Saudi women drivers take the wheel on June 17 by Hala Al- Dosari Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Middle East Human Rights SIGN UP A woman gives a thumb up as she sits behind the wheel of a car in Riyadh in September [EPA] Leading female scholars from Saudi Arabia have described moves to ease restrictions on women as government spin aimed at an international audience to bolster support for efforts to liberalise its ailing economy. The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is seeking to appeal to western governments as a reformist while cracking down on the very women inside the country who have been campaigning for an end to systematic discrimination, they say. Rights groups welcome a decision to end a ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia, but have called for more comprehensive changes to the kingdom's "guardianship" system", which Human Rights Watch describes as the main obstacle to realising women's rights. Hala al-Dosari, a prominent Saudi woman academic in the United States, told Al Jazeera: "The government is trying to portray itself as reformist by tackling certain things that are visible to their outside patrons.