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
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.
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
All quotes βIn 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
He was slumped in the back, gazing out of the window, as though his parents were two people who had picked him up hitchhiking, connected to him merely by chance and proximity.
J. K. RowlingRead
If he thinks he would harm Mirabelle, he would back away. But he does not yet understand when and how people are hurt. He doesn't understand the subtleties of slights and pains, that it is not the big events that hurt the most but rather the smallest questionable shift in tone at the end of a spoken word that can plow most deeply into the heart.
Steve MartinRead
Betrayal answers betrayal, the mask of love is answered by the disappearance of love.
Albert CamusRead
I've changed my ways a little, I cannot now Run with you in the evenings along the shore, Except in a kind of dream, and you, if you dream a moment, You see me there.
Robinson JeffersRead
I don't believe in marriage. It's bloody impractical. 'To love, honor, and obey.' If it weren't, you wouldn't have to sign a contract.
Katharine HepburnRead
There is a huge sense of loneliness as people leave villages and move to cities. It's hard to find that human connection as you move away from where you started.
Mohsin HamidRead