Saudi female driver speaks out for women: 'Your rights are taken, not given'
Despite working as an information security consultant for a multinational company in Saudi Arabia, Manal al-Sharif was not allowed to drive, just like millions of other women in her country.
But in 2011, she decided to change that. She filmed herself cruising behind the wheel of a car and uploaded the video to YouTube. The tape immediately went viral, and Al-Sharif was arrested for breaking the law that bars female drivers in Saudi Arabia.
Eventually released from jail after international outcry, the arrest only made her more determined to speak out for Saudi women's rights. Her passion led her to write a recently released memoir, Daring to Drive: a Saudi Woman's Awakening.
Al-Sharif spoke to USA TODAY about her arrest, her campaign for women's rights and her hopes for change . Her comments have been condensed and edited for style and grammar.
Question: How did you become active in political causes?
Answer: I was subjected to a very strict upbringing in home and school. I wasn’t allowed to question the rules or voice my doubts. I have always felt there is something wrong with the way they teach us how, as women, we are less of everything — we are the seduction fruit, we are the source of all evil in the society and we should be locked behind closed doors and high walls.
When I became financially independent, I started challenging these rules that I have always questioned by using every available mean to speak up, like online forums. With social media becoming influential at the time of the Arab Spring, I finally found my perfect tool.
Q: What do you remember most about your arrest?
A: The most horrific thing being in women’s jail wasn’t being in the jail. It was realizing how little we knew about the abuses others in jail go through, and they have no access to legal assistance or interpreters while on trial. Many didn’t even know why they were there. It made my struggle seem so small.
Q: How did the arrest shape you as a woman and Saudi Arabian citizen?
A: I became more aware of the less fortunate in my country. I became more aware that there is a special punishment reserved for the woman who speaks up. It took a toll on me personally after speaking up and taking action in a conservative society like Saudi Arabia. I was brought up to be an obedient wife to my husband, but I broke this “rule.”
Islam empowers women, but our religious establishment misused the name of religion. My actions and words enraged them. I quoted sayings of the prophet Mohammed regarding women empowerment to prove them wrong and as a result more and more women started questioning their authority. I have the guts to stand up in a very patriarchal society, and I am not backing down.
They tried to stop me and intimidate me. But they could not shut me up. This was very empowering for other Saudi women. Now more and more women are coming out for their rights.
In next 10 years, Saudi Arabia will totally change in terms of women empowerment after the awakening of this silent majority. And being the birth-place of Islam, change in Saudi Arabia will bring refreshing change for Muslim women around the world.
Q: Can you explain the argument against female drivers?
A:My society is very conservative. Women are treated as minors who need protection and permission of men for almost everything. Three important elements of Saudi system — namely conservative society, religious establishment and government — keep women from driving.
Religious establishment gets power by imposing its authority on woman. Government does not want to anger the religious establishment, and society generally accepts women as minors. When cars came to Saudi Arabia, society accepted the norm that women do not drive.
On Nov. 6, 1990, 47 women tried to break that norm by driving. But at that time, the religious establishment was angry over arrival of western troops in Saudi Arabia in the wake of first Iraq war. They directed all their anger against these women drivers calling them a bad influence. They were denounced as immoral women out to destroy Saudi society.
Two days after the protest, the Saudi grand mufti issued a decree that driving by women was un-Islamic. The official argument: Women who drive will become immoral.
People were afraid of unknown because they never saw women driving. A university professor even said if women were allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, there would be no virgin in the country in 10 years.
Q: What does barring women from driving have to do with religion and government?
A: It has nothing to do with religion. Actually, it is un-Islamic to treat women as minors. A car is just a machine. If women could ride a donkey and a camel in the past, why can't they drive their own cars today?
As far as the government is concerned, it is reluctant to allow women drivers as it has to create infrastructure to accommodate women drivers in an Islamic society like Saudi Arabia. This means women traffic police, women driving schools, etc.The government also does not want to provoke the religious establishment as it will reduce its influence in society.
Q: When and why did you leave Saudi Arabia?
A: I left in 2012 after I gave up my job in multinational oil company Aramco, where I had worked for 10 years. Now I live in Sydney, Australia, with my husband and son.
Q: Are men in Saudi Arabia supporting women's rights?
The first one who advocated for woman’s right to education was a man. Men have always been there for women's rights. My father supported me a lot. My brother worked as my driver when I could not drive. He was my witness in court. I believe every successful woman in my country has backing of some man. Now, momentum is growing because women are demanding their rights and men have no choice: Only a weak man is intimidated by women’s power.
Q: What is the most touching response you've received from your book?
A: I always ask anyone who read my book if they could see themselves while reading my story. Every single person had part of my life in his or her own life. This is the beauty of telling your story with honesty, without holding back, just as if you are talking to your own self.
Q: Are you afraid of going back to Saudi Arabia? How often do you visit?
A: I always go back to Saudi Arabia. I sometimes feel hesitant to go back after speaking at a conference, but I always tell myself: The worst that could happen is to be re-arrested. I'm fine with that, and it shouldn't stop me from speaking up.
Q: What response have you received about your activism from Muslim women in the West ?
A:It's very encouraging. A lot come to me and tell me they face so much questioning from the West because of the situation of women in Saudi Arabia, and the world thinks it applies to all Muslim women. Muslim women are happy that I am challenging these un-Islamic laws like the ban on driving and the male guardianship system in Saudi Arabia.
Q: Has your activism affected your relationship with religion?
A: I'm still Muslim. My relationship with Islam wasn't affected. My relationship with the literal and ultra-conservative interpretation of the Islamic text is what changed.
Q: What is your message to Saudi women?
A: My message is your rights are taken, not given. Never give up the fight!
Q: What are your future plans?
A: I’m starting a movement to help sponsor any Saudi woman who wants to acquire her driver’s license abroad. The goal is to sponsor 1,000 women per year.