Mohamed al-Zulfa was a little-known member of Saudi Arabia's majlis al- shura, the consultative council appointed by the king. A few months ago, however, he became an overnight celebrity when he turned a discussion about a new traffic law into a national debate about the right of women to drive cars.

The soft-spoken but daring Mr al-Zulfa, who also teaches modern history, took one look at the introduction to the draft law and was outraged. It showed almost 1m foreigners were working as drivers in Saudi Arabia and sending most of their earnings back home.