A gripping memoir about a young woman from Saudi Arabia who becomes the accidental leader of a wildly subversive movement to put women behind the steering wheel.

The Story of the Woman who Inspired Change with her call for Greater Freedoms for Women.

The Guardian: 'Manal Al-Sharif became a global figurehead of a cause that drew the attention of global leaders who urged the [Saudi] Kingdom to overturn the Ban' on Women Driving.

Manal al-Sharif was born in Mecca the year fundamentalism took hold in Saudi Arabia. As a young girl she would burn her brother's boy band CDs in the oven because music was haram: forbidden by Islamic law.

By her twenties she was a computer security engineer. But as she became older, the unequal way in which women are treated became too much to bear: she was branded a slut for talking to male colleagues at work; her school-age brother had to chaperone her on business trips and, while she kept a car in her garage, she was forbidden from driving down Saudi streets.

Her personal rebellion began the day she got behind the wheel of a car: an act that ultimately led to her arrest and imprisonment. Manal's Women2Drive campaign inspired other women to take action. Manal has been lauded by the Oslo Freedom Forum, described by Time Magazine as one of the most 100 most influential people in the world, and she was awarded the Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent.

Daring to Drive is an account of Manal al-Sharif’s fight for equality in an unequal society. A visceral coming-of-age tale, it is also a celebration of resilience, the power of education and the strength of female solidarity in the face of hardship.

'Future generations will marvel at Manal al-Sharif. Her gripping account of homegrown courage will speak to the fighter in all of us. Books like this one can change the world' Deborah Feldman, New York Times bestselling author of Unorthodox

'Manal al-Sharif is following in a long tradition of women activists around the world who have put themselves on the line to expose and challenge discriminatory laws and policies' Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International News

Book Features

• The TPB has sold almost 6,000 copies through Bookscan
• Manal now lives in Australia
• A political icon: Manal al-Sharif's arrest for daring to drive made her instantly famous. She has over 293,000 Twitter followers, her TED talk 'A Saudi Woman Who Dared to Drive' has been shared globally and viewed by over 1.4 million people. Manal was awarded the Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent and has been named as one of Time magazine’s ‘100 Most Influential People in the World’.
• Rare insight into Saudi Arabia: while there have been other books about repressive life in Saudi Arabia, none has been written by a woman like Manal, the daughter of a poor but devout Muslim family with the courage to fight against the rules of the state. * Will appeal to readers of I am Malala and Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Infidel.
• On the cusp of history: the pressure on Saudi Arabia to make women full citizens is becoming too intense to ignore.

Upcoming Festivals for Manal

Sydney Writers Festival

4 May Solo event with Jamila Rizvi at the Seymour Centre

Byron Bay Writers Festival

3-5 August

Melbourne Writers Festival

24-26 August

Rose Scott Women’s Writers Festival (Sydney)

1 September

Brisbane Writers Festival

7-9 September