( CNN ) -- Wajeha al-Huwaider picked up her passport , got in a taxi , and headed from her home in eastern Saudi Arabia to the nearby island kingdom of Bahrain -- a 45-minute drive that many Saudis take to get away for the weekend . Wajeha al-Huwaider says women face too many controls in Saudi Arabia . Despite having a valid passport , Saudi authorities at the border sent al-Huwaider home . That 's because in Saudi Arabia , a woman needs permission from her male guardian before she can leave the country . Al-Huwaider -- a vocal women 's rights activist in Saudi Arabia -- knew before she left that she would be turned away at the border . Her attempted trip was simply to make a point about the Saudi guardianship system that she says `` controls all aspects of women 's lives . '' `` Either you treat us like mature citizens or let us leave the country ( permanently ) , '' she told CNN . She 's urging all Saudi women who are tired of `` being oppressed '' to go `` to any border and try to cross it without permission from their male relative . '' She wants to end Saudi Arabia 's strict guardianship laws in which women must get permission from their husband , father , or closest male relative before doing the most mundane of tasks -- including working outside the home , going to school , maintaining a bank account , or leaving the country for a weekend getaway . Saudi Arabia is conflicted when it comes to women 's rights . Women are not allowed to vote or drive , but earlier this year Saudi King Abdullah appointed Nora al-Fayez as the kingdom 's first female deputy minister of education as part of a massive Cabinet reshuffling . Many consider Abdullah to be a reformer and the move was hailed within Saudi Arabia as a great step forward for women 's rights . But al-Huwaider sees it differently , claiming even a woman as powerful as al-Fayez `` is n't really in control of her life . '' `` If she wants to travel is not up to her , it 's up to her male guardian , '' she said . Human Rights Watch has criticized the Saudi government for not living up to commitments it made to the United Nations Human Rights Council . HRW issued a report last year detailing the negative impact of the guardianship system on Saudi women . It said Saudi officials have asserted that such guardianship requirements do not exist . `` The Saudi government is saying one thing to the Human Rights Council in Geneva but doing another thing inside the kingdom , '' said Sarah Leah Whitson , HRW 's Middle East director . `` It needs to stop requiring adult women to seek permission from men , not just pretend to stop it . '' Efforts to reach the Saudi government for comment were unsuccessful . HRW issued a report last year detailing the negative impact of the guardianship system on Saudi women . It said Saudi officials have asserted that such guardianship requirements do not exist . Last month , al-Huwaider tried three times to cross from Saudi Arabia into Bahrain on her own and without permission from a male guardian . She was turned back each time but she said she 'll continue going to Saudi 's land borders and its airports in an attempt to gain `` her rights . '' She has even protested on the side of a major road , the King Fahd Causeway that connects Saudi Arabia to Bahrain . Al-Huwaider insists this campaign is different from previous ones she 's been involved in . `` It 's not about just sending messages and petitions anymore , '' she said . `` We 're not going to send any letters to anyone . Saudi women have to find someone who will take them to an airport or a border and say that they do n't approve of the system and that they want to leave . '' She said that her mission is more than just an act of civil disobedience . `` Most of the people think I 'm doing it just to allow women to travel without permission , '' says Al-Huwaider . `` But I keep telling women that it 's the whole system that needs to be changed . ''
Wajeha al-Huwaider says Saudi guardianship system is too restrictive for women . Activist says Arab nation must respect women more or lose them for good . Women are not allowed to vote or drive in Saudi Arabia . Al-Huwaider urges women to attempt to cross border to highlight restrictions .