Daring to Drive
A Saudi Woman's Awakening
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
“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 men—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).
Customer Reviews
Daring to Drive
This book is an excellent read. Provides a window into the world of women in Saudi Arabia. Her plight personally and professionally will resonate with all individuals who believe in equal rights for women as well as men. The author takes us on a journey of her life as a woman living in a country that forbids women the right to drive. Her decision, a daring to drive becomes a rallying cry for all women who must deal with denial of basic rights whether it is driving, traveling, marriage, or other basic freedoms so many women enjoy.
Courageous, insightful
Great read. It shows the real story of life in Saudi Arabia as experienced by the common people. I hope more Saudi women become like Manal and be inspired by her.
كتاب رائع.