Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul was awarded a top European rights prize on Monday in recognition of her fight for women's rights in the kingdom, including her efforts to end a ban on women driving.

The Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize, named after the former Czech dissident and later president, is awarded annually for civil society action in defence of human rights by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

Hathloul "is one of the leaders of the Saudi feminist movement, having campaigned to end the male guardianship system, as well as the Saudi ban on women driving, and for greater protection for women facing abuse in the Kingdom," PACE said in a statement.