This year, a woman got 150 lashes after being caught behind the wheel

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women cannot drive

A Saudi female activist has been arrested after mounting a brave one-woman protest against the country's female driving ban.

Loujain Hathloul, 25, from the country's capital of Riyadh, spent 24 hours at the border after she had her passport confiscated and was blocked from entering her own country - all because she got behind the wheel.

This afternoon she was arrested and taken for interrogation at Hofuf prosecution office, in the desert kingdom.

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Loujain Hathloul, 25, has spent 24 hours at the border of Saudi Arabia as she tries to drive herself home

She started her journey from the United Arab Emirates, where she holds a driving licence and where it is legal for women to drive, and tried to cross its border into Saudi Arabia yesterday

The female activist has been tweeting regular updates from the border with pictures of her inside her car

The French literature graduate started her journey from the United Arab Emirates, where she holds a driving licence and where it is legal for women to drive, and tried to cross its border into Saudi Arabia yesterday.

But border officials refused to let her cross and took away her passport. She spent a cold night sleeping in her car.

This morning she was taken away be police and was held at Albatha port police station. She was arrested and is now being questioned at Hofuf prosecution office.

She was brought supplies from Saudi journalist and presenter Maysaa Al Amoudi, who had her ID confiscated and is now also being questioned.

Ms Hathloul's fiance Fahad Albutairi said he was heading to the police station where she is being held.

He said: 'She is a smart woman. She is holding up very well, as is her companion. Hopefully things will be over very soon.

'I am heading over to see what happened although I am not sure I will be able to see her because of operation hours.

'When she left Abu Dhabi, she was prepared for all scenarios and for something like this to happen or more.

'She is a very smart, strong, intelligent woman and I know her for a fact to be a person who does not do anything without thinking it through thoroughly.'

Ms Hathloul is protesting against the oppressive rule where woman are barred from driving in Saudi Arabia

Pride: Hathloul posted a picture of her United Arab Emirates driving licence earlier this year

Fame: At Abu Dhabi Film Festival in September this year, Hathloul announced her engagement to Saudi stand-up comedian Fahad Albutairi (pictured)

Last night, Ms Hathloul tweeted regular updates from the border with pictures and a video of her driving to the border, which has already been watched by nearly 200,000 people.

This is not the first time Ms Hathloul has stirred up controversy.

Last year she posted videos online with her face and hair uncovered and poked fun at the conservative society in her native country. Those videos have been watched nearly 35 million times.

Her brave actions have sparked a wave of protests across the country, where women in the country are not afforded the basic right of driving a car.

Last night, women in the country came out in force and drove cars around Riyadh in a show of support for Ms Hathloul. They posted videos of themselves on YouTube driving while wearing the full face-covering niqab.

Saudi Arabia is unique in being the only country in the world where women are forbidden to drive motor vehicles.

Women have been barred from driving since the establishment of the state in 1932 and earlier this year, a woman reportedly received 150 lashes after being caught behind the wheel.

Protests and acts of defiance against the ban have grown in recent years, with women posting videos of them behind the wheel to social media.

Ms Hathloul has been at the forefront of women's protests against the driving ban in the desert kingdom

Women in Saudi Arabia have begun to use social media to post videos of them driving in protest at the ban. There are reports that one woman was given 150 lashes for being caught behind the wheel

WOMEN TO DRIVE MOVEMENT IN SAUDI ARABIA Dozens of women first defied the ban in Riyadh in 1990 but were arrested and had their passports confiscated. In 2007, Wajeha al-Huwaider, an activist and writer, and other women petitioned King Abdullah for women’s right to drive. A film of al-Huwaider, who is the co-founder of the Association for the Protection and Defence of Women’s Rights in Saudi Arabia, driving on International Women’s Day 2008 attracted international media attention. Then in 2011 a group of women, including Manal al-Sharif said a campaign called ‘Women2Drive’. A video was then uploaded up al-Huwaider filming al-Sharif driving a car. She was detained and released on the condition she would not speak with the media. Her actions led to a wave of people driving cars in the country during the summer of 2011. Manal al-Sharif filed charges against the decision to the reject her application for a driver's licence. Al-Sharif had applied for a licence in May 2011. The lawsuit was transferred to the Ministry of Interior. But in response, a member of the Consultative Assembly, submitted a report to the Assembly saying that lifting the ban would cause prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce and the 'end of virginity'. Manal al-Sharif was named as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people for the year. In October 2013, there was a campaign calling for women to defy the ban in a protest drive. Four women successfully drove, defying the ban, despite warnings from police officers and ultraconservatives in the Arab state. Advertisement

The 'women to drive movement' is a long-standing campaign by women in Saudi Arabia to defy the ban.

The most recent campaign was launched on October 26, 2013.

On that day, 60 women took to the streets of Saudi Arabia driving cars and posting videos of themselves doing so online.

They uploaded videos of them singing to Bob Marley's hit 'No Woman No Cry' with the words 'No Woman No Drive'.

In response, the group's website was blocked within the country and one of Saudi Arabia's top clerics said women who drive risk damaging their ovaries and bearing children with clinical problems.

Ms Hathloul was at the forefront of the October 26 2013 protest and her role was praised by fellow campaigners.

Eman Al Nafjan said: 'When we at the October 26 campaign were looking for a celebrity [last year] to announce the campaign, we contacted people we knew were pro-women driving.

'They all refused because they feared they would lose followers, fans and might have trouble at their places of work or study.

'Then someone suggested Loujain…when we explained the campaign to her, she instantly and boldly agreed to announce it.

'She got everything from death threats and insults to false rumours of her arrest and ban from travel.

'Instead of backing down and staying in Canada where she was studying, Loujain booked a flight home to Riyadh and then drove herself from the airport while her father filmed her.

'It drove her opposers crazy - so crazy that the ministry of interior called her father in and made him sign a pledge not to allow her to drive again.

'Despite all of that, she still stands her ground…she really is like a breath of fresh cool air in this hot desert climate.'