The Saudi woman who dared to drive
Manal al-Sharif was arrested last year by Saudi Arabian authorities while driving around her home city.
Manal al-Sharif was arrested last year while driving around her home city, said Guy Adams in The Independent (U.K.). She hadn’t broken the speed limit or run a red light. Sharif was guilty of being a woman who dared to drive—a crime in Saudi Arabia. After nine days in jail, she emerged to worldwide fame: A film of her protest cruise, shot by a friend, went viral after being uploaded to YouTube. That video, and Sharif’s subsequent campaign for women’s rights, led to a barrage of death threats. “The harsher the attacks,” she says, “the better I am doing.” Sharif, 33, is an unlikely reformer. She grew up in a conservative family, and remembers burning her brother’s pop cassettes after mullahs told her that music came from “Satan’s flute.” But Sharif’s life changed in 2009 when she moved to Boston for work. For the first time, “I could live a normal life. I could look at apartments and sign a contract [without a man’s approval].” Most importantly, she could drive a car. “I thought, ‘This is how life should be.’” Soon after returning home, Sharif challenged the authorities with her now-famous journey. “You know what?” she says. “They messed with the wrong woman.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku medium: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published