The bicycle freed 19th-century women from their homes and from their dependence on men. I hope that in Saudi Arabia, the car will do the same.
Manal Al-SharifRead
In Saudi Arabia, they always tell us we are queens. We are pistachios. You know the nut? Like something that is protected. So even if you have a very good education, restraints are put on women.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the paradox of being esteemed yet constrained as a woman in Saudi Arabia.
Manal Al-Sharif's quote explores the duality of women's status in Saudi society, where they are celebrated as 'queens' yet treated like 'pistachios' that are protected but restricted. Despite having access to education and opportunities, societal and cultural restraints hinder their freedom and agency, highlighting the struggle for true equality and autonomy.
Themes
WomenEqualityEmpowermentEducationFreedomSociety
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech advocating for women's rights.
More from Manal Al-Sharif
All quotes →In May 2011, I drove a car in the city of Khobar, Saudi Arabia, to protest the kingdom's ban on women driving.
Manal Al-SharifRead
I love my sons, I love my husband, and I love my country. But in kingdoms of men, there are few - if any - choices for women. Or the choices are such that there is no greater pain than having to choose.
Manal Al-SharifRead
Women's rights are nothing but a part of the bigger picture, which is human rights. Women are trusted with the lives of their kids, even serve as teachers and doctors, but they aren't trusted with their own lives.
Manal Al-SharifRead
In the Saudi system, women are considered inferior. No matter our age, we have male guardians. We must get permission from men to attend school, to work, to marry, to travel overseas - even to have basic medical procedures.
Manal Al-SharifRead
For me, driving - or the right to drive - is not only about moving from A to B; it's a way to emancipate women. It gives them so much liberty. It makes them independent.
Manal Al-SharifRead
Similar quotes
Strong women are absolutely unpredictable.
Anne RiceRead
I watched them, thinking that little girls who make their mothers live grow up to be such powerful women.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
I wanted to be an independent woman, a woman who could pay for her bills, a woman who could run her own life - and I became that woman.
Diane Von FurstenbergRead
In my own case, I had to train myself out of that phony smile, which is like a nervous tic on every teenage girl. And this meant that I smiled rarely, for in truth, when it came down to real smiling, I had less to smile about. My 'dream' action for the women's liberation movement: a smile boycott, at which declaration all women would instantly abandon their 'pleasing' smiles, henceforth smiling only when something pleased them.
Shulamith FirestoneRead
Here's my feeling: For everyone, men and women, it's important to be a feminist. It's important to have female characters. It's wonderful for women to mentor other women, but it's just as important for women to mentor men and vice-versa. In my line of work, having Greg Daniels be such a great mentor to me is fantastic. Finding a writer's assistant, be it a man or a woman, and encouraging them to think with a feminist perspective, is key.
Mindy KalingRead
She's got some sort of notion in her head concerning the eternal rights of women.
Kate ChopinRead