Daring to Drive

ARC received from: Netgalley

Rating: 5*

One-Sentence Summary: Growing up as a woman in Saudi Arabia

Review: This book gave a fascinating insight into what of the most paradoxical countries in the world - on the one hand there are Saudis competing who can drive the most expensive car and buying into all kinds of Western ideals, on the other hand they won't even recognise women as being their own person and not in need of a male "guardian" to speak for them.

I have no shame in admitting that I didn't know too much about Saudi Arabia. What I knew was a balance of the stereotyping I hear in the media and a friend trying to tell me it's not as oppressive there as the media makes out any more. I think the media got it right for once!

One of the most fascinating things for me was learning that Saudi Arabia went the opposite way to nearly every other country out there: instead of becoming more open and less oppressive in the mid-end 90's, it actually became more dictatorial and it was the younger generation that forced religious extremism on their parents.

Manal al-Sharif gives a very honest description of what she went through as a child from regular beatings from her father to female circumcision. Her change from religious extremism to fighting for women's rights was really fascinating to read. Hardly any of us can fathom how anyone could get imprisoned for the crime of being a woman driver. A real eye-opener and reinforced the belief that even if could travel there (which I can't), I wouldn't want to.

What can I say? Manal al Sharif is a heroine. She has rocketed to the top of my list of people I want to go for coffee with.
As the blurb tells us, this memoir tells us of Manal's unexpected brush with fame/infamy when she became involved in the campaign to allow women to drive in Saudi Arabia. I am fairly sure if I asked any of my friends here in the U.K. they would say that it is against the law for women to drive in SA. Except it isn't. Against the law that is. It is frowned upon and against the strict religious rules that are imposed in the kingdom but it isn't illegal.
Manal decided to drive through the streets of Jeddah with a friend and her brother and to film their encounter in order to encourage other women to join the day of action they had planned in a months time.
Manal was pulled over, interviewed and released only to be arrested and jailed the next day, charged with the crime 'driving while female'
I am a British non driving woman but living in a secular democracy there are no rules on who I can be in a car with, or who I can be all be alone with and what public transport I can use. Put simply I have no idea how lucky I am and I have a great deal less of a need to drive than Manal does where women face being shouted at, spat at or attacked for walking down the street.
Quite apart from the driving issue, Manal shines a light on how the Kingdom of SA operates, how her religion affects the way they live and the differences beteeen being a Saudi male and female. These were all things I thought I knew but when you are invited into a family in the way Manal brings her into hers, then you really begin to understand and empathise with someone else's struggles. The relationships Manal had with her parents was wonderful to see, especially how her father was able to move with the times and accept her choices.
It seems silly but despite the much more serious and important subject matter, one of the most interesting parts for me was when Manal explained what head coverings Muslim women wear, and why they may choose one option or another. A good book always inspires me to Google something or someone. I have now watched Manal's TED talk, seen the video of her driving and visited the Women2Drive website.
All in all this book is incredibly inspiring, and has a lot to tell us in the west about embracing diversity while also flying the flag for our sisters rights in the Middle East. It is a moving family tale, and a reminder to be thankful for every freedom we have.

Thanks to 'Simon & Schuster' and Netgalley I was able to read "Daring to drive. A Saudi Woman's Awakening"
and I feel so excited to share with you my thoughts on this book that will be published in June 13th this year.

Manal al Sharif

is a woman activist that was named by "Time" magazine 'one of its 100 most influential people of the year. The Oslo Freedom Forum invited her to speak at the annual gathering of human rights activist from around the world at which she received the first ever Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent. A woman that started campaign called 'I Am Lama' Which helped pass the first Saudi code against domestic violence. A woman I would know nothing about if not this book.

About the book:

I expected a book about woman that fights for women driving a car in Saudi Arabia. I thought it will be some kind of political book that talks about woman's right to drive in Saudi Arabia and nothing much more than that. However, I was so wrong.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved this book. It tells as story of a girl that was brought up in the country ruled by strict religious rules. In the country where religious police check if its citizens follow cultural and religious rules and laws. The country where women need their male guardian to apply for a school, rent a flat or even travel and shop.
A woman that used to call herself 's radical Islamist.

My thoughts:

I have been moved by the world behind the walls and veils of every girl or woman in Saudi Arabia. I have been shocked and inspired by Sharif's strength and willingness to help others. In the society strictly controlled by the Salafi school of thought, the strictest that exists in Islam (not accepted by many other Muslims) being a woman that stand for herself is an act to amazing courage.

I watched this TED Talk and thought you would find it interesting.

Manal al-Sharif: A Saudi woman who dared to drive
http://go.ted.com/OUpT8g

Manal Al-Sharif is a courageous woman. Going up against decades of Saudi cultural norms and demanding her right to basic living conditions and standards, Al-Sharif's story is both highly interesting and a little bit heartbreaking.

There is a lot of confusion about Saudi Arabian reality in the western world, where the kingdom is viewed through rose tinted lenses and western governments feebly discuss 'human rights' while getting into bed with the kingdom for its commodities. The result is a damning human rights record in Saudi, with women scraping the bottom of the rights barrel. Al-Sahrif brings all of that information to light, using stories from her childhood to demonstrate what it really means to be a woman in Saudi and what life is really like for its citizens, from ingrained religious fundamentalism to violent abuse, limited child access rights for women and judgement at every turn.

This lady is brave- much braver than I could be. I hope, someday, she triumphs. In the meantime, every man who hates women and every person who hates Islam could do with reading this to learn some crucial lessons about why the world is the way it is- and whose fault that is.