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Loading... Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman's Awakening (edition 2017)by Manal al-Sharif (Author)
Work InformationDaring to Drive: A Saudi Woman's Awakening by Manal al-Sharif
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Manal al-Sharif was already remarkable in that she became a female computer scientist in Saudi Arabia. But what makes her even more so is her dedication to the cause of allowing women to drive cars in her native country. Al-Sharif’s memoir traces her journey from a pious teenage zealot, who burned her brother’s illicit Backstreet Boys cassettes, to being imprisoned after posting a video of herself driving in 2011. The writing is matter-of-fact, perhaps a little dry, but it reveals an interesting perspective on Saudi society and al-Sharif is compelling and easy to root for. ( ) Not all superheros wear capes -- some wear headscarves. One need not turn to [b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale|Margaret Atwood|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1498057733s/38447.jpg|1119185] in order to read a story about female oppression. Manal Al-Sharif's book "Daring to Drive" provides outsiders an inside look at life in one of the world's most repressive countries -- Saudi Arabia. Manal's story begins almost at the end, when she is taken from her home under cover of darkness by unidentified authorities because she has been seen driving (while technically not illegal in Saudi Arabia, Saudi custom forbids women from driving and anyone caught in defiance of the custom is treated as a criminal). Manal then goes "back to the beginning" and takes readers on a journey through her life -- her own fundamentalism and subsequent conversion to questioner; her awful marriage; her education and career experience; and finally her work in challenging the status quo that forbids women from driving. The story is riveting and eye-opening. Although I would consider myself to be a person who has fairly good general knowledge of current world affairs, I was shocked in reading the details about life under the Saudi regime. This book is heartily recommended for those wanting to know more about Saudi Arabia and women who are working to improve the standing of other women. 4.5 stars Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Manal is a Saudi Arabian woman and a Muslim whose life has been dominated by the restrictions that laws and customs have dictated for her. In this book, she shares much about her growing up, born in Saudi Arabia in 1979, so the writing is current. Many parts of the book are painful to read and hard to imagine. I admire her courage in trying to change things so that lives will be better for Saudi women. The changes are happening very slowly. I also was impressed by the devotion to her religion that didn't wiaver through all that she experienced. Growing up in conservative Saudi Arabia and adhering to strict, Muslim doctrines as a teenager and young adult, Manal al-Sharif undoubtedly never imagined that in a few short years she would be leading a campaign supporting Saudi women's right to drive cars. This endeavor would ultimately land her in jail, despite there being no laws on the books forbidding Saudi women from driving. Sharif's story was fascinating, not only due to the sheer amount I learned about Saudi culture, but also her remarkable personal achievements. In addition to her women's rights campaign, she was among the first Saudi women to work in the field of information security. A truly brave woman! no reviews | add a review
Biography & Autobiography.
History.
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HTML:"A vital, inspiring book" (O, The Oprah Magazine): a ferociously intimate memoir by a devout woman from a modest family in Saudi Arabia who became the unexpected leader of the courageous movement that won Saudi women the right to drive. Manal al-Sharif grew up in Mecca the second daughter of a taxi driver, born the year strict fundamentalism took hold. In her adolescence, she was a religious radical, melting her brother's boy band cassettes in the oven because music was haram: forbidden by Islamic law. But what a difference an education can make. By her twenties Manal was a computer security engineer, one of few women working in a desert compound built to resemble suburban America. That's when the Saudi kingdom's contradictions became too much to bear: she was labeled a slut for chatting with male colleagues, her school-age brother chaperoned her on a business trip, and while she kept a car in the garage, she was forbidden from driving on Saudi streets. Manal al-Sharif's memoir is an "eye-opening" (The Christian Science Monitor) account of the making of an accidental activist, a vivid story of a young Muslim woman who stood up to a kingdom of menâ??and won. Daring to Drive is "a brave, extraordinary, heartbreakingly personal" (Associated Press) celebration of resilience in the face of tyranny and "a testament to how women in Muslim countries are helping change their culture, one step at a time" (New York Journal of Books No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)320.082Social sciences Political Science Political Science Political Science Culture StudiesLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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