partiatwork's review against another edition
4.0
Such an inspiring read. In a way, I think we should take it a compliment that some men are still afraid of empowered women.
bak8382's review against another edition
4.0
Manal Al-Sharif became the public face of a campaign to allow women to drive in Saudi Arabia in 2011 when she posted a video of herself driving, and she was arrested for it. It was technically not illegal for women to drive there, but it was the custom so women didn't. Instead they spend a lot of their time figuring out how to get places and paying male strangers to drive them places. This is an eye opening account of what it was like to grow up in Saudi Arabia under a fundamentalist regime. Al-Sharif dutifully believed in everything she was taught until she went to college and began working for Aramco, which allowed many women freedoms they could not find outside its gates, though still retaining many frustrating practices. Women in Saudi Arabia also need permission from male guardians to do almost everything. The blatant discrimination and oppression of women that is still happening to this day, though women have finally been granted the right to drive, is astounding. So many things that women in other parts of the world take for granted women in Saudi Arabia have to find laborious work arounds for, especially divorced women who are forced to relinquish custody of their children and return to their nearest male relatives.
jenmat1197's review against another edition
5.0
This is the story of the author and her want to change the rules for women drivers in her country. The book begins with her being arrested for driving on open Saudi roads. This is something, as a woman, she is forbidden to do. There is actually no law that women cannot drive in Saudi Arabia. But it is a custom, and in Saudi Arabia, customs are treated like laws. She is arrested by the Saudi religious police, and thrown in jail without a trial.
The book goes back to her childhood, and she talks about her upbringing in Mecca. She lived within walking distance to the Grand Mosque there - where all Muslims must visit at least once in their lives as a pilgrimage. While the Mosque is revered, Mecca is where the very poor and destitute live. She grew up in an apartment that didn't have running water, and they barely had enough food to eat.
Manal speaks about how she grew up where women and men were kept separate in all things. Women could not drive themselves anywhere. Women cannot rent an apartment without a man. Women cannot go out without a male escort or guardian. Women cannot attend funerals of loved ones. Women cannot, cannot, cannot. Manal bought into the retoric for a large part of her childhood because it is what she was taught, what she was fed, and what she new. She became a devout Muslim and tried to follow the rules that were put in place for women.
It wasn't until she went to college and realized she didn't want to study the "normal" women professions available to her, and studied computer science. She got a job at the presigious Aramco company, but even there she faced restrictions. She could not rent her own place. She could not drive herself to and from work. She could not dress the way she wanted at work without scutiny.
She did some traveling and her eyes were opened. She found that women in other countries could drive themselves where they needed to go, and that is what she wanted for herself. While she lived for a short period in the United States, she obtained a drivers license, and was determined to get one when she returned home.
She organized Women2Drive movement on facebook, and it received attention on a global scale. It caused a lot of problems for her at work - she started getting death threats, and scathing emails about what she was doing, but she was also getting support from women who wanted to be able to drive themselves. While they were organizing a "Drive day" Manal decided she was going to drive herself somewhere, and that is what got her arrested. She was thrown in a jail that was full of cockroaches, not enough food, and extremely crowded conditions, and it made her even more determined to continue to work to change things.
Today, she speaks all over the world about what she accomplished and the strides she has made for Saudi Arabia. Sadly she had to move from Saudi due to the pressure she was receiving from the public. She now lives in Dubai with her family.
This was an excellent book. Eye opening at the very least. Well told, and well written. Manal did an excellent job of telling her life story and what eventually lead her to become an activist for women's rights in Saudi Arabia. I cannot imagine having the deal with the rules she had to follow as a woman in her own country. The lack of freedom she had just because she was female isn't something I have ever had to deal with. I commend her on her bravery and her efforts. And as of 2018, the King issued a decree lifting the world's only ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia.
Bravo Manal.
The book goes back to her childhood, and she talks about her upbringing in Mecca. She lived within walking distance to the Grand Mosque there - where all Muslims must visit at least once in their lives as a pilgrimage. While the Mosque is revered, Mecca is where the very poor and destitute live. She grew up in an apartment that didn't have running water, and they barely had enough food to eat.
Manal speaks about how she grew up where women and men were kept separate in all things. Women could not drive themselves anywhere. Women cannot rent an apartment without a man. Women cannot go out without a male escort or guardian. Women cannot attend funerals of loved ones. Women cannot, cannot, cannot. Manal bought into the retoric for a large part of her childhood because it is what she was taught, what she was fed, and what she new. She became a devout Muslim and tried to follow the rules that were put in place for women.
It wasn't until she went to college and realized she didn't want to study the "normal" women professions available to her, and studied computer science. She got a job at the presigious Aramco company, but even there she faced restrictions. She could not rent her own place. She could not drive herself to and from work. She could not dress the way she wanted at work without scutiny.
She did some traveling and her eyes were opened. She found that women in other countries could drive themselves where they needed to go, and that is what she wanted for herself. While she lived for a short period in the United States, she obtained a drivers license, and was determined to get one when she returned home.
She organized Women2Drive movement on facebook, and it received attention on a global scale. It caused a lot of problems for her at work - she started getting death threats, and scathing emails about what she was doing, but she was also getting support from women who wanted to be able to drive themselves. While they were organizing a "Drive day" Manal decided she was going to drive herself somewhere, and that is what got her arrested. She was thrown in a jail that was full of cockroaches, not enough food, and extremely crowded conditions, and it made her even more determined to continue to work to change things.
Today, she speaks all over the world about what she accomplished and the strides she has made for Saudi Arabia. Sadly she had to move from Saudi due to the pressure she was receiving from the public. She now lives in Dubai with her family.
This was an excellent book. Eye opening at the very least. Well told, and well written. Manal did an excellent job of telling her life story and what eventually lead her to become an activist for women's rights in Saudi Arabia. I cannot imagine having the deal with the rules she had to follow as a woman in her own country. The lack of freedom she had just because she was female isn't something I have ever had to deal with. I commend her on her bravery and her efforts. And as of 2018, the King issued a decree lifting the world's only ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia.
Bravo Manal.
algaemarina's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
kitkat2500's review against another edition
4.0
I didn’t think I would like this book as much as I did. It’s a memoir about the author’s life in Saudi Arabia. The story is much larger than just being a woman who defies the authorities and drives in SA. It’s about what life is like in that country for women. And it is even worst than I thought. Definitely worth reading!
bookkat's review against another edition
5.0
I found this to be an important book that provided many details about the challenges of living as a Saudi woman, how totally their lives were limited and controlled. Much of the memoir describes al-Sharif’s childhood in Mecca; explaining family life and Saudi customs. During her childhood, Al-Sharif was a devote follow of Islam and went to lengths to follow customs of dress, etc. Fortunately, she is educated and successfully graduates from college and is employed by Aramco, an oil company whose workers live in a Westernized compound. Ultimately, Al-Sharif becomes an activist over the issue of driving. The information is presented with minimal emotion and at times I felt the narration was harsh. I needed to take breaks, as I found the constant (and often ridiculous) challenges to her rights as a woman were overwhelming.
gothchinchilla's review against another edition
5.0
A very honest and intimate look into the lives of Saudi women. The author, Manal Al-Sharif, one of the first campaigners for women's right to drive in Saudi Arabia, lays out details of the local culture and society which aren't addressed enough in modern feminist discourse. Some of the prejudices and injustices described in the book are so extreme that they read like fiction. This book was written in 2017, a year before Saudi Arabia allowed women to drive. While this is a significant step towards achieving more rights for women in the region, there is still so much more to be done.