“Men control all aspects of women’s lives from the day they’re born until the day they die,” Al-Huwaider says.

Aside from boilerplate platitudes from the State Department, no sustained high-level pressure was brought against the Saudi dictatorship. Instead, the United States sold the kingdom $60 billion worth of arms. Whereas in the 1970s, America conditioned “most favored nation” status to the Soviet Union on improvements in human rights, the largest arms deal in American history passed without any meaningful pressure on Saudi Arabia. 

When Prince Naif was appointed heir to the Saudi throne, President Obama said, “I congratulate King Abdullah and the Saudi people on the selection of Prince Naif as crown prince. We in the United States know and respect him for his strong commitment to combating terrorism and supporting regional peace and security.” He added, “The United States looks forward to continuing our close partnership with Crown Prince Naif in his new capacity as we strengthen the deep and longstanding friendship between the United States and Saudi Arabia.”

Saudis knew a different reality. For three and a half decades, Naif oversaw the ministry of the interior, which brutally repressed liberals and dissidents. Women like Amina bint Nasser were beheaded for “sorcery” and men like Hadi al-Mutif were jailed for decades for joking about religion. 

When Naif died, cleric Nimr al Nimr spoke for many Saudis when he asked —rhetorically—“Why shouldn't we be happy at the death of the man who imprisoned and killed our children? This is the man who spread fear and terror, so why shouldn't we rejoice?” No surprise that Nimr himself was arrested last July.

It is easy to make a realist’s case for the U.S.-Saudi alliance. We need their oil so how they treat their own people should be of little concern to us. But turning a blind eye to human rights in the Middle East has brought neither security nor stability. Instead, it has exacerbated extremist trends and undercut Western credibility.

Allowing women to ride bicycles is nice enough. But far from relaxing global pressure on the Saudi dictatorship, it should inspire activists and governments to redouble their efforts to end gender apartheid in the kingdom.