TEDGlobal 2013
Manal al-Sharif: A Saudi woman who dared to drive
Manal al-Sharif: O femeie din Arabia Saudită care a îndrăznit să conducă
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Readability: 3.9
1,659,001 views
În momentul de faţă, în Arabia Saudită nu există legi care să interzică femeilor să conducă . Cu toate acestea, e interzis. În urmă cu doi ani, Manal al-Sharif s-a hotărât să încurajeze femeile să conducă. Cum? S-a urcat la volan, s-a filmat şi a pus video-ul pe YouTube. Iată povestea sa şi ce a urmat apoi.
Manal al-Sharif - Women’s rights activist
Manal al-Sharif advocates for women’s right to drive, male guardianship annulment, and family protection in Saudi Arabia. Full bio
Manal al-Sharif advocates for women’s right to drive, male guardianship annulment, and family protection in Saudi Arabia. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
Allow me to start this talk with a question to everyone.
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Daţi-mi voie să încep prezentarea adresându-vă o întrebare fiecăruia dintre voi.
00:17
You know that all over the world,
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Sţiti că în lumea întreagă,
00:20
people fight for their freedom,
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oamenii luptă pentru libertatea lor,
00:22
fight for their rights.
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luptă pentru drepturile lor.
00:25
Some battle oppressive governments.
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Unii luptă împotriva guvernelor opresive
00:28
Others battle oppressive societies.
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Alţii împotriva societăţilor opresive.
00:32
Which battle do you think is harder?
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Care dintre aceste lupte credeţi că e mai grea?
00:36
Allow me to try to answer this question
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Daţi-mi voie să încerc să răspund la această întrebare
00:39
in the few coming minutes.
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în cele ce urmează.
00:42
Let me take you back two years ago in my life.
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Haideţi să ne întoarcem cu doi ani în urmă în viaţa mea.
00:48
It was the bedtime of my son, Aboody.
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Îl puneam la culcare pe fiul meu, Aboody.
00:51
He was five at the time.
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Atunci avea 5 ani.
00:53
After finishing his bedtime rituals,
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După ce am terminat ritualul de culcare,
00:56
he looked at me and he asked a question:
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S-a uitat la mine şi m-a întrebat:
01:00
"Mommy, are we bad people?"
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„Mami, noi suntem oameni răi?"
01:03
I was shocked.
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Am fost şocată.
01:06
"Why do you say such things, Aboody?"
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„De ce spui aşa ceva, Aboody?"
01:09
Earlier that day, I noticed some bruises
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În acea zi observasem că avea câteva zgârieturi
01:11
on his face when he came from school.
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pe faţă când s-a întors de la şcoală.
01:14
He wouldn't tell me what happened.
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Nu mi-ar fi spus ce s-a întâmplat.
01:16
[But now] he was ready to tell.
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Dar acum a făcut-o.
01:20
"Two boys hit me today in school.
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„M-au lovit doi băieţi la şcoală astăzi.
01:22
They told me, 'We saw your mom on Facebook.
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Mi-au spus : „Am văzut-o pe mama ta pe Facebook.
01:26
You and your mom should be put in jail.'"
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Tu şi cu mama ta ar trebui să mergeţi la închisoare.""
01:31
I've never been afraid to tell Aboody anything.
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Nu i-am ascuns nimic lui Aboody de teamă.
01:34
I've been always a proud woman of my achievements.
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Am fost întotdeauna o femeie mândră de ce am dobândit.
01:38
But those questioning eyes of my son
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Dar acei ochi întrebători ai fiului meu
01:41
were my moment of truth,
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au constituit momentul adevărului pentru mine,
01:43
when it all came together.
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când toate s-au legat.
01:47
You see, I'm a Saudi woman who had been put in jail
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Stiţi, sunt o femeie din Arabia Saudită care a fost închisă
01:52
for driving a car in a country
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pentru că a condus o maşină într-o ţară
01:54
where women are not supposed to drive cars.
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în care femeile nu au voie să conducă.
01:59
Just for giving me his car keys,
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Doar pentru că mi-a dat cheile de la maşina sa,
02:01
my own brother was detained twice,
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fratele meu a fost reţinut la poliţie de două ori,
02:05
and he was harassed to the point he had
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şi a fost hărţuit până la un punct în care a fost nevoit
02:07
to quit his job as a geologist,
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să renunţe la job-ul său de geolog,
02:09
leave the country with his wife and two-year-old son.
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să părăsească ţara cu soţia şi fiul său de doi ani.
02:12
My father had to sit in a Friday sermon
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Tatăl meu a fost nevoit să asiste la predica de vineri
02:14
listening to the imam condemning women drivers
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să-l audă pe imam condamnând femeile şoferiţe
02:18
and calling them prostitutes
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şi numindu-le prostituate
02:20
amongst tons of worshippers,
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de faţă cu mulţimea de credincioşi,
02:22
some of them our friends and family of my own father.
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unii dintre ei prieteni de-ai noştri şi neamuri de-ale tatălui meu.
02:26
I was faced with an organized defamation campaign
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M-am confruntat cu o campanie de defăimare organizată
02:30
in the local media combined with false rumors
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în presa locală la care s-au adăugat zvonuri false
02:33
shared in family gatherings, in the streets
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împrăştiate în reuniunile de familie, pe stradă
02:36
and in schools.
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şi în şcoli.
02:38
It all hit me.
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Toate m-au lovit.
02:41
It came into focus that those kids
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Era clar că acei copii
02:43
did not mean to be rude to my son.
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nu au avut intenţia să fie răi cu fiul meu.
02:45
They were just influenced by the adults around them.
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Erau doar influenţaţi de adulţii din jurul lor.
02:49
And it wasn't about me, and it wasn't a punishment
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Şi nu era vorba despre mine, nu era vorba de o pedeapsă
02:53
for taking the wheel and driving a few miles.
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pentru că am pus mâna pe volan şi am condus câteva mile.
02:57
It was a punishment for daring to challenge
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Era mai degrabă o pedeapsă pentru a fi îndrăznit să încalc
03:00
the society's rules.
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regulile societăţii.
03:03
But my story goes beyond this moment of truth of mine.
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Dar povestea mea merge dincolo de acest moment al adevărului.
03:08
Allow me to give you a briefing
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Daţi-mi voie să vă aduc câteva informaţii
03:12
about my story.
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despre povestea mea.
03:14
It was May, 2011,
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In mai 2011
03:16
and I was complaining to a work colleague
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mă plângeam unui coleg
03:18
about the harassments I had to face
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în legătură cu deranjului pe care trebuia să-l suport
03:20
trying to find a ride back home,
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încercând să găsesc un trasport pentru a mă întoarce acasă
03:21
although I have a car and an international driver's license.
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cu toate că aveam maşină şi permis de conducere internaţional.
03:25
As long as I've known, women in Saudi Arabia
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Din câte ştiam, femeile din Arabia Saudită
03:27
have been always complaining about the ban,
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s-au plâns întotdeauna despre această interdicţie
03:29
but it's been 20 years since anyone
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dar au trecut 20 de ani de când nimeni
03:32
tried to do anything about it,
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nu a încercat să facă nimic în legătură cu asta,
03:34
a whole generation ago.
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s-a scurs o întreagă generaţie.
03:36
He broke the good/bad news in my face.
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Mi-a trântit veştile bune/rele în faţă.
03:38
"But there is no law banning you from driving."
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„Dar nu există nicio lege care îţi interzice să conduci."
03:41
I looked it up, and he was right.
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Am verificat şi avea dreptate.
03:44
There wasn't an actual law in Saudi Arabia.
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De fapt nu exista o lege reală în Arabia Saudită.
03:46
It was just a custom and traditions
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Era doar un obicei şi tradiţii
03:48
that are enshrined in rigid religious fatwas
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care se păstrează cu sfinţenie în rigida reglementare islamică
03:52
and imposed on women.
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şi sunt impuse femeilor.
03:54
That realization ignited the idea of June 17,
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Acea conştientizare a aprins ideea din 17 iunie,
03:58
where we encouraged women to take the wheel
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când noi am încurajat femeile să se urce la volan
04:00
and go drive.
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şi să conducă.
04:03
It was a few weeks later, we started receiving all these
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Câteva săptămâni mai târziu, am început să primim astfel de reacţii:
04:07
"Man wolves will rape you if you go and drive."
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„Bărbaţii-lupi te vor viola dacă conduci."
04:10
A courageous woman, her name is Najla Hariri,
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O femeie curajoasă, pe nume Najla Hariri,
04:12
she's a Saudi woman in the city of Jeddah,
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o femeie din Arabia Saudită, în oraşul Jeddah
04:15
she drove a car and she announced
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s-a suit la volan şi a spus-o cu voce tare
04:17
but she didn't record a video.
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dar nu s-a filmat.
04:18
We needed proof.
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Aveam nevoie de dovezi.
04:20
So I drove. I posted a video on YouTube.
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Aşa că am condus. Şi am postat un video pe YouTube.
04:23
And to my surprise,
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Şi spre surprinderea mea,
04:25
it got hundreds of thousands of views the first day.
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au fost sute de mii de vizionări în prima zi.
04:28
What happened next, of course?
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Ce s-a întamplat apoi, desigur...
04:30
I started receiving threats
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Am început să primesc ameninţări
04:31
to be killed, raped, just to stop this campaign.
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cu moartea, violul, dacă nu încetez această campanie.
04:36
The Saudi authorities remained very quiet.
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Autorităţile Saudiene au fost foarte tăcute.
04:40
That really creeped us out.
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Asta chiar ne-a scos din sărite.
04:42
I was in the campaign with other Saudi women
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Făceam parte din campanie înpreună cu alte femei din Arabia Saudită
04:44
and even men activists.
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şi erau chiar şi bărbaţi activişti.
04:46
We wanted to know how the authorities
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Vroiam să vedem cum vor reacţiona
04:48
would respond on the actual day, June 17,
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autorităţile în această zi de 17 iunie
04:52
when women go out and drive.
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când femeile se urcă la volan şi conduc.
04:54
So this time I asked my brother
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De această dată l-am rugat pe fratele meu
04:56
to come with me and drive by a police car.
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să vină cu mine si să trecem pe lângă maşina poliţiei.
04:58
It went fast. We were arrested,
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A fost rapid. Am fost arestaţi,
05:01
signed a pledge not to drive again, released.
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am semnat un angajament că nu voi mai conduce, eliberaţi.
05:04
Arrested again, he was sent to detention for one day,
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Arestaţi din nou, el a fost trimis în detenţie o zi,
05:08
and I was sent to jail.
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iar eu la închisoare.
05:10
I wasn't sure why I was sent there,
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Nu eram sigură că o să mă ducă acolo,
05:11
because I didn't face any charges in the interrogation.
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deoarece nu primisem nici o acuzaţie la momentul interogatoriului.
05:15
But what I was sure of was my innocence.
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Dar eram sigură de ceva: inocenţa mea.
05:17
I didn't break a law, and I kept my abaya
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Nu încălcasem nicio lege, aşa că am pastrat pe mine „abaya"
05:19
— it's a black cloak we wear in Saudi Arabia before we leave the house —
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- o mantie neagră pe care o purtăm în Arabia Saudită când ieşim din casă -
05:23
and my fellow prisoners kept asking me to take it off,
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şi ceilalţi prizonieri insistau să o dau jos,
05:26
but I was so sure of my innocence, I kept saying,
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dar eram atât de sigură de inocenţa mea şi tot spuneam,
05:29
"No, I'm leaving today."
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„Nu, o să ies astăzi."
05:31
Outside the jail, the whole country went into a frenzy,
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Afară, se desfăşura o frenezie în întreaga ţară,
05:35
some attacking me badly,
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unii mă atacau rău,
05:37
and others supportive and even collecting signatures
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iar alţii mă susţineau şi chiar strângeau semnături
05:41
in a petition to be sent to the king to release me.
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într-o petiţie pentru a fi eliberată pe care urma să fie trimisă regelui.
05:45
I was released after nine days.
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Am fost eliberată după nouă zile.
05:47
June 17 comes.
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Soseşte ziua de 17 iunie.
05:49
The streets were packed with police cars
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Străzile erau burduşite cu maşini de poliţie
05:52
and religious police cars,
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şi maşini de poliţie religioasă,
05:54
but some hundred brave Saudi women
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dar câteva sute de femei curajoase din Arabia Saudită
05:56
broke the ban and drove that day.
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au înfrânt interdicţia si au condus în acea zi.
05:58
None were arrested. We broke the taboo.
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Nici una dintre ele nu a fost arestată. Am doborât tabu-ul.
06:02
(Applause)
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(Aplauze)
06:12
So I think by now, everyone knows that we can't drive,
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Cred că acum toată lumea ştie că putem conduce
06:15
or women are not allowed to drive, in Saudi Arabia,
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chiar dacă femeile nu au voie să conducă în Arabia Saudită.
06:17
but maybe few know why.
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Dar poate că puţini ştiu de ce.
06:20
Allow me to help you answer this question.
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Daţi-mi voie să vă răspund la această întrebare.
06:22
There was this official study
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S-a făcut un studiu oficial
06:26
that was presented to the Shura Council --
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care a fost prezentat Consiliului Shoura,
06:28
it's the consultative council appointed
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- este consiliul consultativ numit de către Rege în Arabia Saudită -
şi a fost făcut de către un profesor local, un profesor universitar.
06:30
by the king in Saudi Arabia —
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El susţine că are la bază un studiu Unesco
06:32
and it was done by a local professor,
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şi din studiu reiese
06:34
a university professor.
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că procentajul violurilor, adulterului şi al copiilor ilegitimi, chiar şi abuzul de droguri, prostituţie
06:35
He claims it's done based on a UNESCO study.
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în ţările în care femeile conduc este mai mare decât în ţările în care femeile nu conduc.
06:40
And the study states,
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Ştiu, şi eu am fost şocată...
06:43
the percentage of rape, adultery,
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Suntem ultima ţară din lume unde femeile nu conduc.
06:46
illegitimate children, even drug abuse,
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Deci dacă ne uităm la harta lumii, vedem doar 2 ţări: Arabia Saudită şi restul Lumii.
06:50
prostitution in countries where women drive
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06:53
is higher than countries where women don't drive.
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06:56
(Laughter)
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06:58
I know, I was like this, I was shocked.
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06:59
I was like, "We are the last country in the world
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07:02
where women don't drive."
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07:04
So if you look at the map of the world,
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07:06
that only leaves two countries:
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07:08
Saudi Arabia, and the other society is the rest of the world.
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07:13
We started a hashtag on Twitter mocking the study,
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07:16
and it made headlines around the world.
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07:18
[BBC News: 'End of virginity' if women drive, Saudi cleric warns]
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07:20
(Laughter)
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07:21
And only then we realized it's so empowering
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07:24
to mock your oppressor.
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07:25
It strips it away of its strongest weapon: fear.
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07:30
This system is based on ultra-conservative
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07:33
traditions and customs
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07:35
that deal with women as if they are inferior
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07:38
and they need a guardian to protect them,
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07:41
so they need to take permission from this guardian,
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07:43
whether verbal or written, all their lives.
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07:45
We are minors until the day we die.
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07:48
And it becomes worse when it's enshrined in religious fatwas
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07:52
based on wrong interpretation of the sharia law,
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07:54
or the religious laws.
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07:57
What's worst, when they become codified
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07:59
as laws in the system,
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08:01
and when women themselves believe in their inferiority,
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08:05
and they even fight those who try
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08:07
to question these rules.
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08:11
So for me, it wasn't only about these attacks I had to face.
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08:15
It was about living two totally different
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08:18
perceptions of my personality, of my person --
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08:21
the villain back in my home country,
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08:23
and the hero outside.
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08:25
Just to tell you, two stories happened in the last two years.
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08:29
One of them is when I was in jail.
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08:32
I'm pretty sure when I was in jail,
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08:34
everyone saw titles in the international media
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08:38
something like this during these nine days I was in jail.
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08:42
But in my home country, it was a totally different picture.
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08:45
It was more like this:
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08:47
"Manal al-Sharif faces charges of disturbing public order
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08:50
and inciting women to drive."
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08:54
I know.
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08:57
"Manal al-Sharif withdraws from the campaign."
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08:59
Ah, it's okay. This is my favorite.
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09:02
"Manal al-Sharif breaks down and confesses:
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09:04
'Foreign forces incited me.'"
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09:06
(Laughter)
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09:08
And it goes on, even trial and flogging me in public.
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09:13
So it's a totally different picture.
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09:17
I was asked last year to give a speech
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09:19
at the Oslo Freedom Forum.
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I was surrounded by this love
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and the support of people around me,
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and they looked at me as an inspiration.
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At the same time, I flew back to my home country,
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they hated that speech so much.
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The way they called it: a betrayal to the Saudi country
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and the Saudi people,
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and they even started a hashtag called #OsloTraitor on Twitter.
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Some 10,000 tweets were written in that hashtag,
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while the opposite hashtag, #OsloHero,
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there was like a handful of tweets written.
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They even started a poll.
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More than 13,000 voters answered this poll:
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whether they considered me a traitor or not after that speech.
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Ninety percent said yes, she's a traitor.
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So it's these two totally different perceptions
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of my personality.
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For me, I'm a proud Saudi woman,
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and I do love my country,
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and because I love my country, I'm doing this.
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Because I believe a society will not be free
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if the women of that society are not free.
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(Applause)
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
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(Applause)
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Thank you.
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But you learn lessons from these things that happen to you.
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I learned to be always there.
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The first thing, I got out of jail,
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of course after I took a shower, I went online,
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I opened my Twitter account and my Facebook page,
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and I've been always very respectful
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to those people who are opining to me.
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I would listen to what they say,
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and I would never defend myself with words only.
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I would use actions. When they said I should withdraw from the campaign,
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I filed the first lawsuit against the general directorate
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of traffic police for not issuing me a driver's license.
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There are a lot of people also --
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very big support, like those 3,000 people
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who signed the petition to release me.
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We sent a petition to the Shura Council
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in favor of lifting the ban on Saudi women,
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and there were, like, 3,500 citizens who believed in that
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and they signed that petition.
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There were people like that, I just showed some examples,
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who are amazing, who are believing in women's rights in Saudi Arabia,
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and trying, and they are also facing a lot of hate
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because of speaking up and voicing their views.
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Saudi Arabia today is taking small steps
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toward enhancing women's rights.
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The Shura Council that's appointed by the king,
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by royal decree of King Abdullah,
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last year there were 30 women assigned to that Council,
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like 20 percent.
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20 percent of the Council. (Applause)
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The same time, finally, that Council,
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after rejecting our petition four times for women driving,
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they finally accepted it last February.
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(Applause)
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After being sent to jail
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or sentenced lashing, or sent to a trial,
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the spokesperson of the traffic police said,
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we will only issue traffic violation for women drivers.
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The Grand Mufti, who is the head
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of the religious establishment in Saudi Arabia,
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he said, it's not recommended for women to drive.
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It used to be haram, forbidden, by the previous Grand Mufti.
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So for me, it's not about only these small steps.
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It's about women themselves.
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A friend once asked me, she said,
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"So when do you think this women driving will happen?"
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I told her, "Only if women stop asking 'When?'
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and take action to make it now."
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So it's not only about the system,
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it's also about us women to drive our own life, I'd say.
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So I have no clue, really, how I became an activist.
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And I don't know how I became one now.
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But all I know, and all I'm sure of, in the future
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when someone asks me my story,
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I will say, "I'm proud
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to be amongst those women who lifted the ban,
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fought the ban, and celebrated everyone's freedom."
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So the question I started my talk with,
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who do you think is more difficult to face,
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oppressive governments or oppressive societies?
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I hope you find clues to answer that from my speech.
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Thank you, everyone.
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(Applause)
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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Thank you. (Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Manal al-Sharif - Women’s rights activistManal al-Sharif advocates for women’s right to drive, male guardianship annulment, and family protection in Saudi Arabia.
Why you should listen
In May 2011, Manal al-Sharif filmed herself driving a car in Saudi Arabia, where women are prohibited from driving. She posted the video on YouTube, called on women to participate in a Women2Drive campaign on June 17 of that year, and attracted 12,000 fans to a Facebook page she’d collaborated on called Teach Me How to Drive So I Can Protect Myself. During a second turn at the wheel, she was arrested. Nine days -- and a groundswell of protest -- later she was released from jail.
Al-Sharif, an information technology consultant, remains active in the women right's movement. She has broadened her campaign to focus on guardianship annulment and family protection as well as driving rights, and has founded several groups throughout Saudi Arabia with the title "My rights, my dignity."
Manal al-Sharif | Speaker | TED.com