Not all superheros wear capes -- some wear headscarves.

One need not turn to [b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale|Margaret Atwood|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1498057733s/38447.jpg|1119185] in order to read a story about female oppression. Manal Al-Sharif's book "Daring to Drive" provides outsiders an inside look at life in one of the world's most repressive countries -- Saudi Arabia.

Manal's story begins almost at the end, when she is taken from her home under cover of darkness by unidentified authorities because she has been seen driving (while technically not illegal in Saudi Arabia, Saudi custom forbids women from driving and anyone caught in defiance of the custom is treated as a criminal).

Manal then goes "back to the beginning" and takes readers on a journey through her life -- her own fundamentalism and subsequent conversion to questioner; her awful marriage; her education and career experience; and finally her work in challenging the status quo that forbids women from driving.

The story is riveting and eye-opening. Although I would consider myself to be a person who has fairly good general knowledge of current world affairs, I was shocked in reading the details about life under the Saudi regime.

This book is heartily recommended for those wanting to know more about Saudi Arabia and women who are working to improve the standing of other women.

4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Manal is a Saudi Arabian woman and a Muslim whose life has been dominated by the restrictions that laws and customs have dictated for her. In this book, she shares much about her growing up, born in Saudi Arabia in 1979, so the writing is current. Many parts of the book are painful to read and hard to imagine. I admire her courage in trying to change things so that lives will be better for Saudi women. The changes are happening very slowly. I also was impressed by the devotion to her religion that didn't wiaver through all that she experienced. ( )

Growing up in conservative Saudi Arabia and adhering to strict, Muslim doctrines as a teenager and young adult, Manal al-Sharif undoubtedly never imagined that in a few short years she would be leading a campaign supporting Saudi women's right to drive cars. This endeavor would ultimately land her in jail, despite there being no laws on the books forbidding Saudi women from driving.

Sharif's story was fascinating, not only due to the sheer amount I learned about Saudi culture, but also her remarkable personal achievements. In addition to her women's rights campaign, she was among the first Saudi women to work in the field of information security. A truly brave woman! ( )

This first-person account of growing up in Saudi Arabia was really wrenching, but ultimately hopeful.

The book opens with Manal's arrest for "driving while female", then backtracks to tell the full story of her life up until that moment. The writing is beautiful and the story is very compelling. ( )

This book is a very brave account of a life constrained by the laws of one of the richest countries in the world, but one where women have virtually no rights. It is predominantly a memoir sharing the life of an ordinary Saudi woman who is trying to make things better for her fellow women in a country where anybody without a y chromosome is denied the freedoms that western women take for granted.
This is an important book both from a feminist and a world perspective and I think every woman should read it.

For the full review check out my blog: Engrossed in a Good Book ( )