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Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman’s Awakening
A ferociously intimate memoir by a devout woman from a modest family in Saudi Arabia who became the unexpected leader of a courageous movement to support women’s right to drive.
Manal al-Sharif grew up in Mecca the second daughter of a taxi driver, born the year fundamentalism took hold. In her adolescence, she was a religious radical, melting her brother’s boy band cassett ...more
Manal al-Sharif grew up in Mecca the second daughter of a taxi driver, born the year fundamentalism took hold. In her adolescence, she was a religious radical, melting her brother’s boy band cassett ...more
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Imagine not being allowed to drive . . .
This is a gripping true story told by Manal, a woman in Saudi Arabia who got arrested by the “religious police” for driving while female. There is no law that forbids women from driving, but the religious police are powerful. One evening they took her from her house, interrogated her for hours, and then threw her in jail, with feces underfoot and cockroaches in her bed. She wasn’t in jail a long time, but her story was all the more sad because she had a yo ...more
This is a gripping true story told by Manal, a woman in Saudi Arabia who got arrested by the “religious police” for driving while female. There is no law that forbids women from driving, but the religious police are powerful. One evening they took her from her house, interrogated her for hours, and then threw her in jail, with feces underfoot and cockroaches in her bed. She wasn’t in jail a long time, but her story was all the more sad because she had a yo ...more
A comprehensive and honest rendering of a woman's life in Saudi Arabia. For any curious about if what you hear and see on the television is true, this book will astonish, fill in many blanks about living in a country ruled by Sharia law. A country where the religious police are given even more power than the law. The author takes us through her childhood, living in Mecca, her parents, a sister she was often at odds with and her beloved brother. Where a woman is allowed to do so little on her own
...more
"The rain begins with a single drop."
When Manal al-Sharif got behind the wheel of the car she'd spent years making payments on and rode onto the city streets of Saudi Arabia, she was sure she had the law behind her. After all, a woman driving a car is not illegal so much as it is against tradition. Manal quickly learned how very little the legality of it all mattered to the Saudi secret police. She was arrested and thrown into a women's prison with appalling conditions. Like many of her fellow f ...more
When Manal al-Sharif got behind the wheel of the car she'd spent years making payments on and rode onto the city streets of Saudi Arabia, she was sure she had the law behind her. After all, a woman driving a car is not illegal so much as it is against tradition. Manal quickly learned how very little the legality of it all mattered to the Saudi secret police. She was arrested and thrown into a women's prison with appalling conditions. Like many of her fellow f ...more
I can't begin to imagine what it feels like to live in a society in which there are so many restrictions on women's rights and freedoms. Daring to Drive is Manal al-Sharif's memoir of her life in Saudi Arabia. Her claim to fame is that she was arrested for driving, and that she has led a campaign to give women the right to drive in Saudi Arabia. Manal's writing is straightforward and powerful. She recounts her childhood, her university years, her first marriage and her work as the only woman in
...more
Daring to Drive is a blunt, honest, and captivating memoir that describes Manal al-Sharif's story. al-Sharif tells of her childhood growing up in Mecca where she was educated according to strict religious doctrines and her journey to being imprisoned for driving while female. While not a legal violation in Saudi Arabia, women driving goes against Saudi tradition and is subject to the religious police interfering. al-Sharif was imprisoned in a jail with terrible conditions while the outside news
...more
I had the enormous privilege to meet Manal a couple of weeks ago, at the bookstore I manage. Thank goodness the world has strong, determined women like Manal! To be so young & to have gone through so much, standing up for a horrendous patriarchal world (as a whole, & in particular, Saudi Arabia), but still to be lovely, positive, & generous - a true hero. An inspiration for us all.
I know the Western world still has a long way to go in terms of the way women still get treated at the h ...more
I know the Western world still has a long way to go in terms of the way women still get treated at the h ...more
My first 10/5 Star Review for 2017.
To call this book AMAZING really understates the impact of the book. This author doesn't hold back in her words and experiences. Absolutely powerful. So, I am going to do something that I really never do in a review. I am going to swear...This book is FUCKING amazing! If you are a woman, READ THIS BOOK! If you believe in women's rights need to be demanded in a country that treats women as though they are nothing more than livestock...READ THIS BOOK. It is easy ...more
To call this book AMAZING really understates the impact of the book. This author doesn't hold back in her words and experiences. Absolutely powerful. So, I am going to do something that I really never do in a review. I am going to swear...This book is FUCKING amazing! If you are a woman, READ THIS BOOK! If you believe in women's rights need to be demanded in a country that treats women as though they are nothing more than livestock...READ THIS BOOK. It is easy ...more
Well written and incredibly interesting. First hand account of growing up as a female in modern day Saudia Arabia. Manal al-Sharif details her strict religious upbringing (and period of extremism), schooling, male dominated culture, marriages, and struggle to change some of the inequalities against women (specifically, the ban against women driving). I was surprised to see that, not only were women forbidden from driving STILL, but they also needed a male guardian's permission to do anything. It
...more
I read this book over a span of time that also included the Women's March and it was both humbling and inspiring to read about the lengths some women (including Manal al-Sharif) are willing to go to advance women's rights. Talk about a role model for how advocacy should work. It really hit me in the gut!
But beyond that, my biggest takeaway from this memoir was how much (SO MUCH!) I learned about the Saudi Arabian culture and the "why's" behind so many of the practices and traditions. I closed t ...more
But beyond that, my biggest takeaway from this memoir was how much (SO MUCH!) I learned about the Saudi Arabian culture and the "why's" behind so many of the practices and traditions. I closed t ...more
This book gives us a rare view into the world of girls and women in an authoritarian society. Manal Al-Sharif considered her childhood normal but I found it shocking. She and her siblings were subjected to such frequent beatings from their parents that they emulated them and beat each other. She and her sister were virtually under house arrest and entertained each other through the cruelty of destroying each other's few belongings. School, the media and the family all encouraged extremely fanati
...more
Stunning. A beautifully written, intimate account by the bravest of women who is daring to stand up for the equality of Saudi women.
Captivating, heart breaking, joyous, humble.
Her account of being raised in poverty in Mecca through to taking such a life-changing, history-making stance.
It covers poverty, education, secrecy, radical extremism, history, ambition, determination, rebellion, and so much more.
Stunning book, literally unveiling so much that has been hidden for too long.
Captivating, heart breaking, joyous, humble.
Her account of being raised in poverty in Mecca through to taking such a life-changing, history-making stance.
It covers poverty, education, secrecy, radical extremism, history, ambition, determination, rebellion, and so much more.
Stunning book, literally unveiling so much that has been hidden for too long.
Manal Al-Sharif was arrested, interrogated and imprisoned in her native Saudi Arabia. Her crime was “driving while female”. Although she had broken no actual law, the religious police ruled that women should not drive. Increasingly frustrated by the restrictions caused by not being allowed to drive, Manal Al-Sharif decided to challenge the ban and this book is a compelling and riveting account of how she did this. It’s also a fascinating memoir of her life in a society where women are considered
...more
This book, a memoir, will make you want to scream in frustration at the treatment of women, even today, in Saudi Arabia.
Wow, just wow. I am an editor at The News Wheel , an automotive news site, and I was able to get a copy of Daring to Drive from the publisher to review. This book is about so much more than just the right to drive, but also what it means to move throughout your city or society while being seen as something almost less than human.
Manal al-Sharif's writing is both clear and compelling, so this is book was a joy to read even though it dealt with some pretty weight subjects like FGM and other forms ...more
Jun 15, 2017
Ceillie
added it
I'm not in the mental place for this book, so I'm going to review based on the 23% of the way I got through this book.
The writing is simple but good, but the content is very hard for me to read.
TW for FGM, police abuse, gaslighting.
The writing is simple but good, but the content is very hard for me to read.
TW for FGM, police abuse, gaslighting.
3.5
"Don't be afraid. Fear won't prevent death, it prevents life."
-Naguib Mahfouz, cited by Manal Al-Sharif
This is a book that needs to be read.
As prose, it's not amazing--the tone is dry, sometimes excessively so, but I attribute that more to the logistics of Arabic-English translation than anything to do with the author. When I was reading, there was a distinct divide between the first seven chapters, where the dryness saturated the story and made it difficult to engage fully, and the latter seve ...more
-Naguib Mahfouz, cited by Manal Al-Sharif
This is a book that needs to be read.
As prose, it's not amazing--the tone is dry, sometimes excessively so, but I attribute that more to the logistics of Arabic-English translation than anything to do with the author. When I was reading, there was a distinct divide between the first seven chapters, where the dryness saturated the story and made it difficult to engage fully, and the latter seve ...more
Daring to Drive by Manal al-Sharif
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Audio Narrator: Lameece Issaq
Release Date: June 13, 2017
Length: 304 pages
Original Source: http://www.novelvisits.com/daring-dri...
Single Sentence Summary: In the spring of 2011, Manal al-Sharif was arrested for driving in Saudi Arabia, but her courageous story began long before that day.
From the Publisher: Daring to Drive is the fiercely intimate memoir of an accidental activist, a powerfully vivid story of a young Muslim woman who ...more
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Audio Narrator: Lameece Issaq
Release Date: June 13, 2017
Length: 304 pages
Original Source: http://www.novelvisits.com/daring-dri...
Single Sentence Summary: In the spring of 2011, Manal al-Sharif was arrested for driving in Saudi Arabia, but her courageous story began long before that day.
From the Publisher: Daring to Drive is the fiercely intimate memoir of an accidental activist, a powerfully vivid story of a young Muslim woman who ...more
What a remarkable book! I intend to send this one to all my friends and family next Christmas. It really is a must-read.
Manal Al-Sharif's memoir about her life as a Saudi woman is eye-opening and fascinating. It is an intimate look at being female in this strictly male-dominated society. It is also a picture of a rapidly changing society that is rarely understood by the outside world, a place where religion, tradition, and law control women's lives in every aspect. It is hard to believe that su ...more
Manal Al-Sharif's memoir about her life as a Saudi woman is eye-opening and fascinating. It is an intimate look at being female in this strictly male-dominated society. It is also a picture of a rapidly changing society that is rarely understood by the outside world, a place where religion, tradition, and law control women's lives in every aspect. It is hard to believe that su ...more
Manal describes her childhood growing up in Mecca in a devout Muslim family and then her realization in college that being Muslim does not necessarily mean completely covering herself, not interacting with people of other faiths, or not being able to drive or lead an independent life. Manal ends up working for the oil company Aramco and living on one of their extensive compounds where many of the cultural norms of Saudi society do not apply. On this compound Manal is able to drive, can show her
...more
In 2011 Manal al-Sharif was imprisoned for driving in Saudia Arabia. She slept on a filthy mattress in a cockroach infested jail crowded with too many women. If her travel, intelligence and determination had already set her on a path to be somewhat of a women’s activist, this was the straw that broke the camels back. Meeting these imprisoned women only strengthened Manal’s resolve that things in Saudi Arabia needed to change. This beautifully written memoir describes her childhood, faith in her
...more
An eye opener into what life is like for Muslim women specifically in Saudi Arabia. Told without rancor or bias...a straightforward story about a woman who dared to drive in Saudi Arabia. More importantly this woman is a faithful Muslim who learns that the 'powers that be' (read that as "men") who truly rule her life and her family's are dispassionate bullies who are taught to wield power over women and children through random beatings, sequestering, and a litany of rules that make no sense. I w
...more
This was a good read and a very good look inside the Saudi kingdom from a woman's perspective. I highly recommend this one. My only problem with this narrative is that the author, in trying to remain objective and make this something other than an emotional plea for human rights, sometimes relates her story in a very clinical, logical fashion that makes it seem like a distanced account. I think a bit of emotion might have humanized here story a bit more. However, I totally understand why she mus
...more
This book was enlightening. It has a bit of an odd sequence, but I continued through it. I listened to it on Audible. That may have contributed to this perception. It is so difficult as an American female to understand the trials and tribulation women around the world face. American society has a ways to go, but things in other countries move at a much different pace.
Do you ever read a dystopian novel and think "oh my gosh all these harsh things would never happen in our world!". That's how I felt reading this book.
Never in my life did I have a serious contemplation of how simple my life as a woman is in the Western World (especially the United States) in comparison to a woman born in Saudi Arabia. For example, today I woke up and left for work in my own car without a man, and clocked into my own job where I work beside men and women, and just last night I ...more
Never in my life did I have a serious contemplation of how simple my life as a woman is in the Western World (especially the United States) in comparison to a woman born in Saudi Arabia. For example, today I woke up and left for work in my own car without a man, and clocked into my own job where I work beside men and women, and just last night I ...more
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This is Manal Al-Sharif's story of being a activist for women's rights in Saudi Arabia. This book tells the story of Manal Al-Sharif's childhood to the day she was imprisoned for driving while being female in Saudi Arabia. It is a coming of age story of how Manal grew up in an Islam fundamentalist environment and how she immersed herself into their particular views and lifestyle. She then goes to college where her whole life changes and she is able to see the bigger picture of the country she l
...more
This was an informative and powerful book. I learned a great deal about Saudi Arabian culture, in particular, about the oppression of women and the resistance to change this ideology. Thank you Manal, for sharing your story with the world. I understand and have a better perspective on the awakening of women in Saudi Arabia.
Phenomenal and important read
I understand so much more than I ever did before about Saudi Arabia and also their Muslim society. It helps explain a lot about how radical Islam comes to be and why they feel as they do against "infidels". The courage of this woman to want to change things for the better is simply phenomenal.
I understand so much more than I ever did before about Saudi Arabia and also their Muslim society. It helps explain a lot about how radical Islam comes to be and why they feel as they do against "infidels". The courage of this woman to want to change things for the better is simply phenomenal.
It is amazing what the author had endured and still has a strong positive attitude. Many things I take for granted in the year 2017 are what her women are struggling to achieve.Very well written.
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Jul 11, 2017 06:55PM
Thanks, Ca ...more
Jul 12, 2017 01:45PM