A Saudi woman who dared to drive | Manal al-Sharif

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Vanesa Tola Reviewer: Helena Bedalli

Allow me to start this talk with a question to everyone.

Me lejoni ta nis kete diskutim me nje pyetje drejtuar te gjitheve.

You know that all over the world,

E dini se ne te gjithe boten,

people fight for their freedom,

njerezit luftojne per lirine e tyre,

fight for their rights.

luftojne per te drejtat e tyre.

Some battle oppressive governments.

Disa luftojne kunder qeverive shtypese.

Others battle oppressive societies.

Disa te tjere luftojne kunder shoqerive shtypese.

Which battle do you think is harder?

Cila beteje mendoni se eshte me e veshtire?

Allow me to try to answer this question

Me lejoni te perpiqem t'i pergjigjem kesaj pyetjeje

in the few coming minutes.

ne minutat qe vijojne.

Let me take you back two years ago in my life.

Me lejoni t'ju kthej dy vjet pas ne jeten time.

It was the bedtime of my son, Aboody.

Ishte ora e gjumit per djalin tim, Aboody.

He was five at the time.

Ne ate kohe ishte pese vjec.

After finishing his bedtime rituals,

Pasi mbaroi ritualet e ores se gjumit,

he looked at me and he asked a question:

ai me shikoi dhe me beri nje pyetje:

"Mommy, are we bad people?"

"Mami, a jemi njerez te keqinj?"

I was shocked.

Mbeta e shokuar.

"Why do you say such things, Aboody?"

"Pse e thua nje gje te tile, Aboody?"

Earlier that day, I noticed some bruises

Me heret ate dite, vura re disa blana

on his face when he came from school.

ne fytyren e tij kur u kthye nga shkolla.

He wouldn't tell me what happened.

Nuk ma tregonte se cfare kishte ndodhur.

[But now] he was ready to tell.

[Por tani] ishte gati te tregonte.

"Two boys hit me today in school.

"Dy djem me gjuajten sot ne shkolle.

They told me, 'We saw your mom on Facebook.

Me thane, 'Pame mamane tende ne Facebook.

You and your mom should be put in jail.'"

Ti dhe mamaja jote duhet te futeni ne burg.'"

I've never been afraid to tell Aboody anything.

Nuk kam patur kurre frike t'i tregoja cdo gje Aboody-t.

I've been always a proud woman of my achievements.

Gjithmone kam qene nje grua krenare per arritjet e mija.

But those questioning eyes of my son

Por ata sy pyetes te tim biri

were my moment of truth,

ishin momenti im i se vertetes,

when it all came together.

kur gjithcka u qartesua.

You see, I'm a Saudi woman who had been put in jail

Ja pra, jam nje grua Saudite e cila eshte futur ne burg

for driving a car in a country

per ngarjen e makines ne nje shtet

where women are not supposed to drive cars.

ku grate nuk supozohet te ngasin makina.

Just for giving me his car keys,

Vetem se me dha celesat e makines se tij,

my own brother was detained twice,

vellai im eshte arrestuar dy here,

and he was harassed to the point he had

dhe i kane rene ne qafe deri ne ate pike sa iu desh

to quit his job as a geologist,

te linte punen si gjeolog,

leave the country with his wife and two-year-old son.

te largohej nga shteti me gruan e tij dhe djalin dy-vjecar.

My father had to sit in a Friday sermon

Tim eti iu desh te ulej ne nje predikim te se Premtes

listening to the imam condemning women drivers

duke degjuar hoxhen qe ndeshkonte grate shofere

and calling them prostitutes

dhe i quante prostituta

amongst tons of worshippers,

midis mijera besimtareve,

some of them our friends and family of my own father.

disa prej tyre jane miq dhe famijlare te babait tim.

I was faced with an organized defamation campaign

U perballa me nje fushate te organizuar shpifjesh

in the local media combined with false rumors

ne kanalin lokal te kombinuar me thashetheme jo te verteta

shared in family gatherings, in the streets

te ndara ne mbledhje familjare,ne rruge

and in schools.

dhe ne shkolla.

It all hit me.

E gjithe kjo me goditi.

It came into focus that those kids

U be e qarte se ata femije

did not mean to be rude to my son.

nuk kishin qellim te tregoheshin te vrazhde me tim bir.

They were just influenced by the adults around them.

Ishin thjesht te ndikuar nga te rriturit qe i rrethonin.

And it wasn't about me, and it wasn't a punishment

Dhe nuk kishte lidhje me mua,nuk ishte nje denim

for taking the wheel and driving a few miles.

per marrjen e makines dhe pershkimin e disa miljeve.

It was a punishment for daring to challenge

Ishte nje ndeshkim per marrjen e guximit per te sfiduar

the society's rules.

rregullat e shoqerise.

But my story goes beyond this moment of truth of mine.

Por historia ime shkon pertej ketij momenti te se vertetes.

Allow me to give you a briefing

Me lejoni t'ju tregoj nje permbledhje

about my story.

ne lidhje me historine time.

It was May, 2011,

Ishte Maj, 2011,

and I was complaining to a work colleague

dhe po i ankohesha nje kolegu te punes

about the harassments I had to face

ne lidhje me lodhjen qe perjetoja

trying to find a ride back home,

duke u perpjekur te gjeja nje menyre per tu kthyer ne shtepi,

although I have a car and an international driver's license.

edhe pse kam nje makine dhe nje patente nderkombetare.

As long as I've known, women in Saudi Arabia

Me aq sa di une, grate ne Arabine Saudite

have been always complaining about the ban,

jane ankuar gjithmone ne lidhje me ndalimin,

but it's been 20 years since anyone

por kane kaluar 20 vjet qekur dikush

tried to do anything about it,

u perpoq te bente dicka ne lidhje me te,

a whole generation ago.

para nje brezi te tere.

He broke the good/bad news in my face.

Ai e shpalli lajmin e mire/te keq ne fytyren time.

"But there is no law banning you from driving."

"Por nuk ka asnje ligj qe te ndalon ty te ngasesh makinen."

I looked it up, and he was right.

E kontrollova dhe kishte te drejte.

There wasn't an actual law in Saudi Arabia.

Nuk kishte nje ligj ekzistues ne Arabine Saudite.

It was just a custom and traditions

Ishte thjesht nje zakon dhe tradita

that are enshrined in rigid religious fatwas

qe jane ruajtur nga opinionet e ngurta fetare

and imposed on women.

dhe te ngarkuara mbi grate.

That realization ignited the idea of June 17,

Ky konklusion i vuri zjarr idese se 17 Qershorit,

where we encouraged women to take the wheel

ku inkurajuam gra te merrnin makinen

and go drive.

dhe ta ngisnin.

It was a few weeks later, we started receiving all these

Ndodhi pas disa javesh, qe filluam te merrnim keto

"Man wolves will rape you if you go and drive."

"Burrat ujqer do te abuzojne me ju nese shkoni dhe ngisni makinen."

A courageous woman, her name is Najla Hariri,

Nje grua e guximshme, emri i se ciles eshte Najla Hariri,

she's a Saudi woman in the city of Jeddah,

eshte nje grua Saudite ne qytetin e Jeddah,

she drove a car and she announced

ngau nje makine dhe e deklaroi

but she didn't record a video.

por nuk xhiroi nje video.

We needed proof.

Na duheshin prova.

So I drove. I posted a video on YouTube.

Keshtu qe une ngava .Postova nje video ne YouTube.

And to my surprise,

Dhe per habine time,

it got hundreds of thousands of views the first day.

mori qindra mijera shikime diten e pare.

What happened next, of course?

Cfare ndodhi me pas, natyrisht?

I started receiving threats

Fillova te merrja kercenime

to be killed, raped, just to stop this campaign.

se do te me vrisnin, abuzonin me mua, vetem qe ta ndaloja kete fushate.

The Saudi authorities remained very quiet.

Autoritetet Saudite qendruan te qete.

That really creeped us out.

Kjo gje na frikesoi me te vertete.

I was in the campaign with other Saudi women

Isha ne fushate me gra te tjera Saudite

and even men activists.

madje edhe me meshkuj aktiviste.

We wanted to know how the authorities

Donim te dinin se si do te reagonin

would respond on the actual day, June 17,

autoritetet ne daten 17 Qershor,

when women go out and drive.

kur grate do te dilnin dhe do te ngisnin makina.

So this time I asked my brother

Keshtu qe kesaj here i kerkova vellait tim

to come with me and drive by a police car.

te vinte me mua dhe te ngisja makinen prane nje makine policie.

It went fast. We were arrested,

Ndodhi shpejt. Na arrestuan,

signed a pledge not to drive again, released.

firmosem nje garanci se nuk do te ngisnim me dhe u liruam.

Arrested again, he was sent to detention for one day,

U arrestuam serish, ai u dergua ne arrest per nje dite,

and I was sent to jail.

dhe une u dergova ne burg.

I wasn't sure why I was sent there,

Nuk isha e sigurte se per cfare arsye me kishin derguar atje,

because I didn't face any charges in the interrogation.

sepse nuk isha perballur me ndonje akuze gjate marrjes ne pyetje.

But what I was sure of was my innocence.

Por isha e sigurte per pafajsine time.

I didn't break a law, and I kept my abaya

Nuk theva ligjin, dhe mbajta abaja-n time

— it's a black cloak we wear in Saudi Arabia before we leave the house —

--eshte nje mantel i zi qe veshin ne Arabine Saudite para se te dalim nga shtepia--

and my fellow prisoners kept asking me to take it off,

dhe te burgosurit e tjere vazhdonin te me thonin qe ta hiqja,

but I was so sure of my innocence, I kept saying,

por isha e sigurte per pafajsine time, vazhdoja te thoja,

"No, I'm leaving today."

"Jo, do te dal sot."

Outside the jail, the whole country went into a frenzy,

Jashte burgut, i gjithe shteti u be i furishem,

some attacking me badly,

disa duke me sulmuar keqas,

and others supportive and even collecting signatures

dhe te tjere duke me mbeshtetur dhe madje duke mbledhur firma

in a petition to be sent to the king to release me.

ne nje peticion qe do t'i dergohej mbretit per te me liruar.

I was released after nine days.

U lirova pas nente ditesh.

June 17 comes.

17 Qershori vjen.

The streets were packed with police cars

Rruget ishin te mbushura me makina policesh

and religious police cars,

dhe makina policesh fetare,

but some hundred brave Saudi women

por disa qindra gra te guximshme Saudite

broke the ban and drove that day.

thyen rregullin dhe ngane makinat ate dite.

None were arrested. We broke the taboo.

Asnjera nuk u arrestua. Ne thyem tabu-ne.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

So I think by now, everyone knows that we can't drive,

Mendoj se deri tani, te gjithe e dine se ne nuk mund te ngasim,

or women are not allowed to drive, in Saudi Arabia,

ose grave nuk i lejohet te ngasin, ne Arabine Saudite,

but maybe few know why.

por ndoshta vetem disa e dine arsyen pse.

Allow me to help you answer this question.

Me lejoni t'ju ndihmoj t'i pergjigjeni kesaj pyetjeje.

There was this official study

Ishte nje studim zyrtar

that was presented to the Shura Council --

i cili iu prezantua Keshillit Shura--

it's the consultative council appointed

eshte keshilli konsultativ i emeruar

by the king in Saudi Arabia —

nga mbreti i Arabise Saudite--

and it was done by a local professor,

dhe ishte bere nga nje profesor i zones,

a university professor.

nje profesor universiteti.

He claims it's done based on a UNESCO study.

Ai pretendon se bazohet ne nje studim UNESCO.

And the study states,

Dhe studimi shpall,

the percentage of rape, adultery,

perqindja e abuzimeve, tradhetive bashkeshortore,

illegitimate children, even drug abuse,

femijeve te jashteligjshem, madje edhe abuzimi me droge,

prostitution in countries where women drive

prostitucioni ne shtete ku grate ngasin

is higher than countries where women don't drive.

eshte me e larte se ne shtete ku grate nuk ngasin.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

I know, I was like this, I was shocked.

E di, edhe une keshtu reagova, mbeta e shokuar.

I was like, "We are the last country in the world

Thashe, "Ne jemi shteti i fundit ne bote

where women don't drive."

ku grate nuk ngasin."

So if you look at the map of the world,

Pra nese shikoni harten e botes,

that only leaves two countries:

ngelen vetem dy shtete:

Saudi Arabia, and the other society is the rest of the world.

Arabia Saudite dhe shoqeria tjeter eshte pjesa tjeter e botes.

We started a hashtag on Twitter mocking the study,

Ne postuam dicka ne Twitter qe tallte studimin,

and it made headlines around the world.

dhe u shfaq ne artikujt kryesore kudo ne bote.

[BBC News: 'End of virginity' if women drive, Saudi cleric warns]

[BBC News:'Humbje e virgjerise' nese grate ngasin makinen, paralajmeron kleriku Saudit]

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

And only then we realized it's so empowering

Dhe vetem atehere kuptuam se te tallesh me shtypesin tend

to mock your oppressor.

te jep fuqi.

It strips it away of its strongest weapon: fear.

Ia zhvesh armen me te fuqishme qe ka:friken.

This system is based on ultra-conservative

Ky sistem eshte i bazuar ne tradita dhe zakone

traditions and customs

ultra-konservatore

that deal with women as if they are inferior

te cilat i trajtojne grate si te jene inferiore

and they need a guardian to protect them,

dhe te kene nevoje per nje kujdestar qe t'i mbroje,

so they need to take permission from this guardian,

keshtu ato duhet te marrin leje nga kujdestari i tyre,

whether verbal or written, all their lives.

qofte verbale ose te shkruar, gjate gjithe jetes se tyre.

We are minors until the day we die.

Ne jemi te mitura deri diten qe vdesim.

And it becomes worse when it's enshrined in religious fatwas

Dhe behet me keq kur eshte ruajtur ne opinionet fetare

based on wrong interpretation of the sharia law,

te bazuara ne keq-interpretime te ligjit sharia,

or the religious laws.

ose ligjeve fetare.

What's worst, when they become codified

Ajo c'ka eshte me e keqja, kur regjistrohen

as laws in the system,

si ligje ne sistem,

and when women themselves believe in their inferiority,

dhe kur grate vete besojne ne inferioritetin e tyre,

and they even fight those who try

dhe madje edhe luftojne kunder atyre qe perpiqen

to question these rules.

t'i vene ne dyshim keto rregulla.

So for me, it wasn't only about these attacks I had to face.

Pra per mua, s'ishin vetem sulmet qe duhet te perballoja.

It was about living two totally different

Behej fjale per te jetuarin e dy perceptimeve

perceptions of my personality, of my person --

te personalitetit tim, te vetes sime, krejt te ndryshme--

the villain back in my home country,

keqberesja ne shtetin tim,

and the hero outside.

dhe heroina jashte tij.

Just to tell you, two stories happened in the last two years.

Dy histori ndodhen dy vitet e fundit.

One of them is when I was in jail.

Njera prej tyre ndodhi kur isha ne burg.

I'm pretty sure when I was in jail,

Jam shume e sigurte se kur isha ne burg,

everyone saw titles in the international media

te gjithe pane keto tituj ne mediat nderkombetare

something like this during these nine days I was in jail.

dicka e tille gjate nente diteve qe isha ne burg.

But in my home country, it was a totally different picture.

Por ne shtetin tim, isha nje figure komplet ndryshe.

It was more like this:

I perngjante me shume kesaj:

"Manal al-Sharif faces charges of disturbing public order

"Manal al-Sharif perballet me akuza per prishjen e qetesise publike

and inciting women to drive."

dhe nxitjen e grave per te ngare makinen."

I know.

E di.

"Manal al-Sharif withdraws from the campaign."

"Manal al-Sharif terhiqet nga fushata."

Ah, it's okay. This is my favorite.

Ah,s'ka gje. Kjo eshte e preferuara ime.

"Manal al-Sharif breaks down and confesses:

"Manal al-Sharif heq dore dhe rrefen:

'Foreign forces incited me.'"

'Forca te huaja me nxiten'"

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

And it goes on, even trial and flogging me in public.

Dhe vazhdon, madje edhe gjykim dhe fshikullim ne publik.

So it's a totally different picture.

Pra eshte nje figure komplet ndryshe.

I was asked last year to give a speech

Vitin e kaluar me kerkuan te mbaja nje fjalim

at the Oslo Freedom Forum.

ne Forumin e Lirise se Oslos.

I was surrounded by this love

Isha e rrethuar nga dashuri

and the support of people around me,

dhe mbeshtetje nga njerezit qe me rrethonin,

and they looked at me as an inspiration.

dhe me shikonin si frymezim.

At the same time, I flew back to my home country,

Ne te njejten kohe, u ktheva ne shtetin tim,

they hated that speech so much.

ata e urryen shume ate fjalim.

The way they called it: a betrayal to the Saudi country

Menyra si e quajten: nje tradheti ndaj shtetit Saudit

and the Saudi people,

dhe njerezve Saudite,

and they even started a hashtag called #OsloTraitor on Twitter.

dhe madje publikuan dicka ne Twitter qe quhej: #Tradhtarja e Oslos.

Some 10,000 tweets were written in that hashtag,

Rreth 10,000 komente ishin shkruar ne ate publikim,

while the opposite hashtag, #OsloHero,

nderkohe qe publikimi kundershtar, #Heroina e Oslos,

there was like a handful of tweets written.

kishte nje sasi te vogel komentesh.

They even started a poll.

Madje nisen nje sondazh.

More than 13,000 voters answered this poll:

Me shume se 13,000 vota iu pergjigjen ketij sondazhi:

whether they considered me a traitor or not after that speech.

nese me konsideronin nje tradhtare apo jo pas atij fjalimi.

Ninety percent said yes, she's a traitor.

90 perqind thane po, eshte nje tradhtare.

So it's these two totally different perceptions

Pra jane keto dy perceptime komplet te ndryshme

of my personality.

te personalitetit tim.

For me, I'm a proud Saudi woman,

Per sa me perket mua, jam nje grua krenare Saudite,

and I do love my country,

dhe e dua shtetin tim,

and because I love my country, I'm doing this.

dhe pikerisht pse e dua shtetin tim, po e bej kete.

Because I believe a society will not be free

Sepse besoj se nje shoqeri nuk do te jete e lire

if the women of that society are not free.

nese grate e asaj shoqerie nuk jane te lira.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

Thank you.

Faleminderit.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Faleminderit, faleminderit, faleminderit, faleminderit.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

Thank you.

Faleminderit.

But you learn lessons from these things that happen to you.

Por ti meson mesime nga keto qe te ndodhin.

I learned to be always there.

Une mesova te jem gjithmone aty.

The first thing, I got out of jail,

Gjeja e pare, dola nga burgu,

of course after I took a shower, I went online,

natyrisht pasi bera nje dush, hyre online,

I opened my Twitter account and my Facebook page,

hapa Twitter-in tim dhe faqen time te Facebook-ut,

and I've been always very respectful

dhe kam treguar gjithmone respekt

to those people who are opining to me.

ndaj atyre njerezve qe jane te hapur me mua.

I would listen to what they say,

Do ta degjoja ate qe kane per te thene,

and I would never defend myself with words only.

dhe nuk do ta mbroja kurre veten vetem me fjale.

I would use actions. When they said I should withdraw from the campaign,

Do te perdorja veprat. Kur thane se duhet te terhiqesha nga fushata,

I filed the first lawsuit against the general directorate

paraqita procesin e pare gjyqesor kunder drejtorise se pergjithshme

of traffic police for not issuing me a driver's license.

te policise se trafiket per mos-leshimin e patentes per mua.

There are a lot of people also --

Ka gjithashtu shume njerez--

very big support, like those 3,000 people

mbeshtetje shume e madhe, si ato 3,000 personat

who signed the petition to release me.

te cilet firmosen peticionin per te me liruar.

We sent a petition to the Shura Council

Derguam nje kerkese ne Keshillin Shura

in favor of lifting the ban on Saudi women,

ne favor te heqjes se ndalimit ndaj grave Saudite,

and there were, like, 3,500 citizens who believed in that

dhe kishte, rreth 3,500 qytetare qe besuan ne te

and they signed that petition.

dhe e firmosen kerkesen.

There were people like that, I just showed some examples,

Kishte njerez te tille, sapo ju tregova disa shembuj,

who are amazing, who are believing in women's rights in Saudi Arabia,

qe jane te mrekullueshem, qe besojne ne te drejtat e grave ne Arabine Saudite,

and trying, and they are also facing a lot of hate

dhe perpiqen dhe po perballen gjithashtu me shume urrejtje

because of speaking up and voicing their views.

sepse po u japin ze kendveshtrimeve te tyre.

Saudi Arabia today is taking small steps

Arabia Saudite sot po ndermerr hapa te vegjel

toward enhancing women's rights.

per rritjen e te drejtave te grave.

The Shura Council that's appointed by the king,

Keshilli Shura qe eshte i emeruar nga mbreti,

by royal decree of King Abdullah,

nga dekreti mbreteror i Mbretit Abdullah,

last year there were 30 women assigned to that Council,

vitin e kaluar u caktuan 30 gra ne ate Keshill,

like 20 percent.

qe do te thote 20 perqind.

20 percent of the Council. (Applause)

20 perqind e Keshillit. (Duartrokitje)

The same time, finally, that Council,

Ne te njejten kohe, me ne fund, ky Keshill,

after rejecting our petition four times for women driving,

pasi e refuzoi kater here kerkesen tone qe grate te ngasin,

they finally accepted it last February.

me ne fund e pranuan Shkurtin e kaluar.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

After being sent to jail

Pasi u dergova ne burg

or sentenced lashing, or sent to a trial,

apo denuar me fshikullim, apo derguar ne gjyq,

the spokesperson of the traffic police said,

zedhenesi i policise se trafikut tha,

we will only issue traffic violation for women drivers.

do te denojme vetem shkeljen e qarkullimit te bere nga grate shofere.

The Grand Mufti, who is the head

Muftiu i Madh, i cili eshte kryetari

of the religious establishment in Saudi Arabia,

i institucionit fetar ne Arabine Saudite,

he said, it's not recommended for women to drive.

tha se, nuk eshte e rekomandueshme qe grate te ngasin.

It used to be haram, forbidden, by the previous Grand Mufti.

Ka qene e paligjshme, e ndaluar nga Muftiu i Madh.

So for me, it's not about only these small steps.

Pra per mua, nuk behet fjale vetem per keto hapat e vegjel.

It's about women themselves.

Behet fjale per vete grate.

A friend once asked me, she said,

Nje shoqe dikur me pyeti,

"So when do you think this women driving will happen?"

"Kur mendon se grate do te jene ne gjendje te ngasin?"

I told her, "Only if women stop asking 'When?'

I thashe,"Vetem nese grate ndalojne se pyeturi 'Kur?'

and take action to make it now."

dhe te ndermarrin veprime per ta realizuar tani."

So it's not only about the system,

Pra s'ka te beje vetem me sistemin,

it's also about us women to drive our own life, I'd say.

ka te beje edhe me ne grate qe te ngasim jeten tone, do te thoja.

So I have no clue, really, how I became an activist.

Pra nuk ia kam idene, vertete, si u bera aktiviste.

And I don't know how I became one now.

Dhe se di se si u bera nje tani.

But all I know, and all I'm sure of, in the future

Por gjithcka qe di dhe per te cilen jam e sigurte, ne te ardhmen

when someone asks me my story,

kur dikush te me pyese per historine time

I will say, "I'm proud

do te them, "Jam krenare

to be amongst those women who lifted the ban,

te jem midis atyre grave qe hoqen ndalimin,

fought the ban, and celebrated everyone's freedom."

e luftuan ate dhe festuan lirine e te gjitheve."

So the question I started my talk with,

Pra pyetja me ate te se ciles nisa kete diskutim,

who do you think is more difficult to face,

cila mendoni se eshte me e veshtire per tu perballuar,

oppressive governments or oppressive societies?

qeveria shtypese apo shoqeria shtypese?

I hope you find clues to answer that from my speech.

Shpresoj se do te gjeni celesin drejt pergjigjes nga fjalimi im.

Thank you, everyone.

Faleminderit,te gjitheve.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

Thank you.

Faleminderit.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

Thank you. (Applause)

Faleminderit.(Duartrokitje)