Leading Saudi Blogger Dies at Age 25

Hadeel Alhodaif, a leading Saudi female blogger died last Friday after slipping into a coma a few weeks ago. Alhodaif was one of the few bloggers in the Arab world blogging under her own name. She used her blog to demand greater liberties for those living in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East at large.

It is difficult to imagine the death of a blogger in the West making national news. But leading Arab and Iranian web diarists enjoy an almost cult status. Their closest cultural counterpart in the West would perhaps be a graffiti artist, such as Banksy, or even a campaigning pop star, such as Bono.

Liberals admired Ms Alhodaif because she was a gifted, published literary writer who also promoted freedom of expression in her blog, Heaven's Steps. For them, there was a tragic sense of loss: a writer had been cut off in her early prime before she had the opportunity to produce her best work.

[Hat Tip: Blog Herald]