Manal al-Sharif

Manal al-Sharif
منال الشريف
Headshot of Manal al-Sharif
Al-Sharif in 2011
Born (1979-04-25) 25 April 1979 (age 45)[1]
Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Occupations
Known forDefying female driving ban in Saudi Arabia[4][5]
Spouses
First husband
​
(divorced)​
Rafael
​
(m. 2012)​
Children2

Manal al-Sharif (Arabic: منال الشريف, romanized: Manāl Aš-Šarīf, pronounced [maˈnaːl aʃːaˈriːf]; born 25 April 1979) is a Saudi women's rights activist who helped start a right-to-drive campaign in 2011. Wajeha al-Huwaider filmed al-Sharif driving a car as part of the campaign.[6] The video was posted on YouTube and Facebook.[4][5] Al-Sharif was detained on 21 May 2011, released, and rearrested the following day.[2][7] On 30 May, al-Sharif was released on bail,[8] on the conditions of returning for questioning if required, not driving, and not talking to the media.[9] The New York Times and Associated Press associated the women's driving campaign as part of the Arab Spring and the long duration of al-Sharif's detention due to Saudi authorities' fear of protests.[10][11]

Following her driving campaign, al-Sharif remained an active critic of the Saudi government, tweeting on issues including imprisoned female foreign workers, the lack of elections for the Shura Council, and the murder of Lama al-Ghamdi. Her work has been recognized by Foreign Policy, Time, and the Oslo Freedom Forum.

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