North Africa and Middle East

Calling something “politically correct” is usually a way of dismissing it. When a woman calls out sexism, for example, an exasperating response is to call her a “p.c. liberal feminist.” Instead of addressing the alleged sexism, it suggests her sensitivity is disingenuous, the result of a lack of humor or a desire for ideological point-scoring. It’s a hard charge to defend yourself against personally and, worse, the writing it’s lobbed against sometimes is, too — vague, hand-wringing essays that map identity politics onto everything but assert nothing.

Saudi Arabian women’s headline-grabbing 2011 driving protests were a seminal moment for women’s rights in this ultraconservative Muslim country. Next year, they’ll finally get to taste the fruits of that activism — though not quite in the way they were shooting for.