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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes that women's rights are an essential aspect of human rights, highlighting the contradictions in society's trust in women.
Manal Al-Sharif's quote articulates that women's rights should not be viewed in isolation but as integral to the broader context of human rights. It points out the irony that while women are entrusted with critical responsibilities, such as raising children and serving as educators and healthcare professionals, they often lack autonomy and trust in their own lives and decision-making. This highlights a systemic issue of gender inequality that undermines the fundamental rights of women.
Themes
Women'S RightsHuman RightsEqualityTrustAutonomy
In practice
Example use cases
During a panel discussion on gender equality, this quote can be used to illustrate the importance of recognizing women's roles in society.
More from Manal Al-Sharif
All quotes →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
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
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
Twenty-five million people who live in North Korea are denied freedom in every respect of their lives. In short, they are hostages. Imagine 25 million hostages.
Min Jin LeeRead
The fundamental rights of [humanity] are, first: the right of habitation; second, the right to move freely; third, the right to the soil and subsoil, and to the use of it; fourth, the right of freedom of labor and of exchange; fifth, the right to justice; sixth, the right to live within a natural national organization; and seventh, the right to education.
Albert SchweitzerRead
If resources become scarce, people tend to fight for them. This is increasing the number of people on the move and the number of people forced to move. They're not refugees, according to the legal definition, but they represent a major humanitarian and human rights challenge, as well as a major challenge for world politics.
Antonio GuterresRead
Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world ... Such are the places where every man, woman and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere.
Eleanor RooseveltRead
In my human-rights work, perhaps the most important thing is gaining the trust of the victims.
Kerry KennedyRead
Gay rights are human rights, there is no separation.
MacklemoreRead