My approved topic is liberal feminism, and I will be discussing its’ presence in the talk called A Saudi woman who dared to drive by Manal al-Sharif.
Liberal feminism is the belief that women should have the same opportunities as men; it is based on a desire to promote equal opportunity between male and female. Liberal feminism produces arguments that women are just as rational as men and therefore should have equal opportunity to make their own choices. Liberal feminism seeks to erase gender-biased distinctions in law.
Manal al-Sharif was a Saudi-Arabian woman, in which country women are not allowed to drive; this is not law, but more of a taboo. Manal al-Sharif decided to challenge this and it resulted in her being imprisoned for daring to break the taboo and be seen behind the wheel, as well as her brother being detained for handing over his car keys. This was followed by a huge media outrage and women took to the streets to drive (none of whom were arrested). Manal al-Sharif was released after nine days, and the talk she gives is describing the events, and the reasoning behind this, and the effects and consequences which her actions have had in Saudi Arabia.
In her talk, Manal al-Sharif states that she believes “a society will not be free if women of that society are not free”. This demonstrates the argument often proposed by liberal feminists, that women should have the same rights as men. In effect, she is saying that women should be free; that they should not be oppressed by men, that they are equally important in societies, which is a very liberal feminist point of view.
The Quran teaches that “men are in charge of women” ; this is the reasoning used when it is questioned in Saudi Arabia why men have more rights than women. But Manal al-Sharif argues that driving is nothing to do with the teachings of the Quran, because cars weren’t even invented when