QuoteProject
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-Sharif
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote expresses love while highlighting the difficult choices women face in patriarchal societies.

Manal Al-Sharif's quote reflects a deep personal love for her family and homeland while simultaneously acknowledging the oppressive reality that women often encounter in societal structures. It suggests that despite her affection, the limitations placed on women create profound emotional turmoil, emphasizing the lack of true agency and the painful decisions they must make in a male-dominated world.

Themes

LoveWomenChoicesPainSociety

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about gender equality, one could use this quote to illustrate the struggles women face.

More from Manal Al-Sharif

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.
Manal Al-SharifRead
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
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

When people say 'marriage' to me... It's always a means to an end. Everyone's so in a rush to define the relationship.
Lady GagaRead
Care is a state in which something does matter; it is the source of human tenderness.
Rollo MayRead
Look around. And don't get close to people who make you suffer.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Studies show that if people think that they are treated fairly by the police, that matters almost more than what the result is. If you get stopped for a traffic stop and feel that you are treated courteously and fairly, you are much more likely to accept the fact that you got a speeding ticket.
Eric HolderRead
There are subtle ways and overt ways of alienating a child from a parent, but either way it's evil
Dennis PragerRead
Proclaim the beauty and truth of the Christian message to a society which is tangent by confusing presentations of sexuality, marriage and the family.
Pope FrancisRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.