A Saudi woman who dared to drive Manal alSharif

allow me to uh to start this talk with a

question to everyone you know that all

over the world people fight for their

freedom fight for the rights some battle

oppressive governments others battle

oppressive societies which battle do you

think is harder allow me to try to

answer this question in the few coming

minutes let me take you back two years

ago in my life it was a bit time of my

son like booty he was five at the time

after finishing his bedtime rituals he

looked at me and he asked her question

mommy are we bad people or shocked why

do you say such thing Aboudi

any other day I noticed some bruises on

his face when he came from school who

didn’t tell me what happened he was

ready to tell two boys hit me today in

school they told me we saw your mom and

Facebook you and your mom should be put

in jail I’ve never been afraid to tell a

goodie anything I’ve been always proud

women of my achievements but those

questioning guys of my son

well my moment of truth when it all came

together

you see I’m assigned a woman who been

put to jail for driving a car in a

country where women are not supposed to

drive cars just for giving me his car

keys my own brother was detained twice

and he was harassed to the point he had

to quit his job as a geologist leave the

country with his wife and two-year-old

son my father had to sit in a Friday

sermon listening to the Imam containing

condemning woman drivers and calling

them prostitutes amongst

of worshipers some of them are friends

and family of my own father I was faced

with organized deformation campaign in

the local media combined with false

rumors shared a lot in family gatherings

in the streets and in school it all hit

me it came into focus that those kids

were not meant to be rude to my son

they were just influenced by the adults

around them and it wasn’t about me and

it wasn’t a punishment for taking the

wheel and driving a few miles it was a

punishment for daring to challenge the

society’s rules but my story goes beyond

this moment of truth of mine allow me to

give you a very brief thing about my

story it was May 2011 and I was

complaining to a work colleague about

the harassment I had to face trying to

find a ride back home although I have a

car an international driver’s license as

long as I know woman in Saudi Arabia

have been always complaining about the

bank but it’s been 20 years since anyone

tried to do anything about it a whole

generation ago he broke the good bad

news in my face but there is no law

banning you from driving I looked it up

and he was right there was an actual law

inside Arabia it was just a custom and

traditions that are enshrined in rigid

religious fet was an important woman

that realization ignited the idea of

June 17 when we encouraged women to take

the wheel and go drive it was few weeks

later we started receiving all these men

walls with Rabia if you go and drive a

courageous woman her name is Leslie her

IDI she’s assigned a woman in the city

of Jeddah she drove a car and she

announced but she didn’t record the

video we needed proof so I drove I

posted a video on YouTube and for my

surprise it got hundreds of thousands of

views the first day what happened next

of course I started receiving threats to

be killed raped

just to stop this campaign the Saudi

authorities remained very quiet

that really creeped us out I was in the

campaign with other side a woman and

even men activists we wanted to know how

the authorities will response when the

actual date 117 with women go out and

drive so this time I asked my brother to

come with me and drive by a police car

it went fast

we’re arrested sign a plate not to drive

again released arrested again he was

sent to detention for one day and I was

sent to jail I wasn’t sure why I was

sent there because I didn’t face any

charges in the interrogation but what I

was sure of of my innocence I didn’t

break a law and I kept my abaya it’s a

black clock we were in Saudi Arabia

before we leave the house and my fila

prisoners kept asking me to take it off

but I was so sure of my innocence I kept

saying no I’m leaving today outside the

jail the whole country went into a

frenzy some attacking me badly and

others supportive and even collecting

signatures for in a petition to be sent

to the King to release me I was released

after nine days June 17 comes the the

streets were packed with police cars and

religious police cars but some 100 brave

side a woman broke the band and drove

that day none were arrested we broke the

taboo

so I think by now everyone knows that we

can drive or women are not allowed to

drive in Saudi Arabia but maybe few

knows why allow me to help you answer

this question

there was this official study that was

presented to the Shura Council

it’s the consultative council appointed

by the king in Saudi Arabia and it was

done by a local professor a university

professor

he claims it’s done based on a UNESCO

study under steady States the percentage

of rape adultery illegitimate children

even drug abuse prostitution in

countries would women drive is higher

than countries who were in don’t drive I

know I was like this I was shocked I was

like we are the last country in world

with women don’t drive so if you look at

the map of the world that only leaves

two countries Saudi Arabia and the other

Society is the rest of the world we

started a hashtag on Twitter mocking the

study and he made headlines around the

world

and only then video is is so empowering

to mock your oppressor it strips it away

of his strongest weapon fear this system

is based on ultra conservative

traditions and customs deal with moment

as they are inferior and they need a

guardian to protect them so they need to

take permission from this garden with a

verbal or written all the lives world

minors until the day we die and it

becomes worse when it’s enshrined in

religious fete was based on wrong

interpretation of the Sharia law or the

religious laws what’s worst when they

become codified as laws in the system

and when woman themselves belief in

their infinity and they even fight those

who try to question these rules so for

me it wasn’t only about these attacks I

had to face it was about living two

totally different perception of my

personality of my person the villain

back in my home country and the hero of

just to tell you two stories happen in

the last two years one of them is when I

was in jail I’m pretty sure when I was

in jail everyone so titles in the

international media something like this

during these nine days I was in jail but

in my home country it was totally

different picture it was more like this

when Alice she faces charges of

disturbing public order and inciting

woman to drive I know

Manal al-sharif withdraws from the

campaign okay this is my favorite Manal

al-sharif breaks down and confesses

foreign forces incited me and it goes on

even trial and flogging me in public so

it’s not a different picture I was asked

last year to give a speech and also

Freedom Forum I was surrounded by this

love on supportive people around me and

they looked at me as an inspiration the

same time I flew back to my home country

they hated the speech so much the way

they call it a betrayal to the sided

country undecided people and they even

started a hashtag called Oslo traitor on

Twitter some 10,000 tweets were written

in that hashtag while the opposite

hashtag Oslo hero

there was like handful of twists written

they even started a poll more than 13

thousand voters answered this poll

whether they consider me traitor or not

after that speech 90 percent said yes

she’s a traitor so it’s these two

totally different perception of my

personality

for me I’m a proud tidy woman and I do

love my country and because I love my

country I’m doing this because I believe

a society will not be free if woman of

that society are not free

thank you but you learn lessons from

these things that happen to you Elaine

to be always there the first thing I got

out of jail

of course after I took a shower I went

online I opened my Twitter account on my

Facebook page and I’ve been always very

respectful to those people who are open

it to me I would listen to what they say

and I would never defend myself with act

with words only I would use actions when

they said I would draw from the kambei I

found the first lawsuit against the

General Directorate of traffic police

for not issuing me a driver’s license

there are a lot of people also very big

supportive like those 3,000 people who

signed the petition to release me like

the we sent a petition to the Shura

Council in favor of lifting the ban on

side women and the word like 3,500

citizens believes in that and they

signed that petition there are people

like that I just showed some sample who

are amazing who are believing in women’s

rights in Saudi Arabia and trying and

they’re also facing a lot of hate

because of speaking up and voicing their

views Saudi Arabia today is taking small

steps toward enhancing women’s rights

the Shura Council that’s appointed by

the king by royal decree from King

Abdullah last year there were 30 women

assigned to that council like 20 percent

20 percent of the council the same time

finally that council after rejecting our

petition four times for women driving

they finally accepted it last February

after being sent to jail or since his

lashing or sent to a trial the

spokesperson of the traffic police said

we will only issue traffic violation for

women drivers the Grand Mufti was the

head of the religious establishment in

Saudi Arabia he said it’s not

recommended for women to drive used to

be Haram forbidden by the previous Grand

Mufti so for me it’s not about all these

small steps

it’s about warming themselves a friend

once asked me she said so what do you

think this woman driving will happen I

told her only if women stopped asking

when and take action to make it now so

it’s not only about the system it’s also

about us woman to drive our own life I’d

say so I have no clue really how I

become an activist and I don’t know how

I became one now but all I know and all

I’m sure of in the future when someone

asked you mama asked me my story I will

say I’m proud to be amongst this woman

who lived the back fold the bag and

celebrated everyone’s freedom so the

question I started my talk with who do

you think is more difficult to face

oppressive governments or oppressive

societies I hope you find clues to

answer that for my speech thank you

everyone