In 2016, al-Otabibi and her sisters Maryam and Manahel began campaigning against the male guardianship system in Saudi Arabia, posting online using the hashtag #IAmMyOwnGuardian.
[1] Manahel posted about their arrest online and this went viral internationally, prompting their release from prison.
[1] In 2019, a police officer fined her for public indecency because of a video on her Snapchat account that showed her dancing in jeans and a baseball cap at a concert in Riyadh.
[2] After first appearing in court in 2023, in 2024 her sister Manahel was convicted of "terrorism offences" related to her clothing, shopping without an abaya and expressing her views online.
[5] She has told the organisation that she believes the only reason her sister was finally permitted a phone call was in order to convey a message to her family to stop being publicly outspoken about her imprisonment.