Meet Manal Al-Sharif

Meet Manal Al-Sharif.

There can never be a word magnanimous enough to describe this woman. She did so much and suffered so much, but the most courageous thing she ever did was speak, even when she faced great hardship for doing so. For the women of Saudi Arabia, that is often the hardest thing to do, and she did it eloquently. For “Driving a car while being female” seeking justice and for speaking the truth, she faced an all-out attack on her character, morals, and person. She was accused of being a traitor. They printed lies about her in newspapers and launched an all-out smear campaign against her. They even went as far as to falsely report that she was killed while driving a car… before all of that she was put in prison. All of this In the hopes that she would stop being a symbol for the simplest of changes in Saudi Arabia the right for women to drive. They failed. She didn’t do all she did for gold or glory she did it because she loves her country! She is an inspiration to many and stands today in my mind as a beacon of light for all of our lights that we keep hidden away for fear of the repercussions that we might face. 

In her book Daring to drive, she said, “There can be no modern Saudi kingdom as long as women are still ruled by men”. She is 100% correct. No matter what our defacto ruler MBS does for what he considers to be the the modernization of Saudi Arabia, it will never be what is needed to create a modern Saudi kingdom unless he allows the women of his country to stand proudly beside the men as equal human beings with rights just as men do. We want to help lift up our country, but our hands are tied. It’s time to set us free, for if they did, they would find that fewer of us would fly away. A songbird that loves its home does not need a cage or for its wings to be clipped. 

Granted, there are social norms and customs that will be hard to change even with two more generations. If the idea of ending male guardianship ever does reach far enough along to be considered, most definitely, it will receive the same primitive and regressive pushback as the idea of women driving. At the time when women were asking to drive “academics from Saudi Arabia’s highest religious council, working with a retired professor from king Fahd university of petroleum and minerals, presented a graphic report warning Shoura members (Majlis ash-Shura or Shura Council, is the formal advisory body of Saudi Arabia.) that if women were allowed to drive, prostitution, pornography, homosexuality, and divorce would “surge.” The report also stated that if women were allowed to drive “within ten years, there would be no more virgins” in Saudi Arabia. It cited the “moral decline” that has occurred in other Muslim counties where women drive.” - (Daring to Drive, by Manal Al-Sharif). 

They forget that customs are hard to do away with, and if women are ever freed from the male guardianship laws, they might actually find many women happy to seek their husband's or fathers' permission out of tradition and respect; for many, nothing will change. Many women will choose to stay happy homemakers and decide not to seek employment where they would work in mixed company. The point is that they deserve a choice. Everyone deserves the right to choose. Giving them that right will not make Saudi Arabia weaker. On the contrary, it will make it stronger. 

As many of the protesters out these last few months supporting the rights of women in Iran say, “ it’s not about my hair, it’s about my voice, it’s not about my body, it’s about my choice.” If a woman chooses to wear the hijab, she should be respected for it, and if she chooses not to wear it, she should be respected for it. If a woman chooses to work as a doctor, lawyer, homemaker, pilot or teacher she should be respected for it. If a woman chooses to marry or not to marry, to have children or not to have children she should be respected for it. If she wants to wear shorts or an Abaya, she should be respected for it. It should be her choice, and the right to choose is something so many in the western world can’t ever imagine not having. Never take your freedom for granted. 

We have been denied so many fundamental and simple choices in our lives simply because our guardians must agree before we can do anything. We love our country, and nothing would make us prouder than to see it rise to its ultimate potential and take its place as a shining example to all other Arab nations around the world. 

Oil wealth can only sustain the country for so much longer, and without changes it will only find that it regresses further and further once that wealth is gone. 

Read her book: Daring to Drive by Manal Al-Sharif available on Amazon