For us, driving is not what we are looking for, but being in the

The words of Manal al-Sharif — “For us, driving is not what we are looking for, but being in the driver's seat of our only destiny. That means ending guardianship in Saudi Arabia, which means recognizing women as full citizens” — shine as a cry of liberation, born from the heart of struggle. To the world, the act of driving may seem small, but in her land, it became a symbol of chains broken, a visible defiance against the walls that sought to confine women to silence and dependence. She speaks not of the steering wheel alone, but of sovereignty over one’s own life.

In her words, the driver's seat is a throne of selfhood, a place where each soul commands its own course. For centuries, guardianship laws in Saudi Arabia declared that a woman could not move, marry, or labor without the permission of a male guardian. To al-Sharif, to drive was not merely to control a car, but to seize hold of her destiny, to prove that women are not wards, not shadows, but human beings endowed with full dignity. Her defiance became a beacon to all who hungered for recognition as equal citizens.

History has always turned on such symbols. When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus, it was not about the ride, but about the soul of freedom. When Indian salt marchers followed Gandhi to the sea, it was not about the grains of salt, but about the chains of empire. So too with al-Sharif: the car she drove was a vessel of resistance, and each mile was a declaration that women would no longer yield their fate to others.

Her struggle also reveals the courage required to challenge laws that cloak themselves in tradition. To demand an end to guardianship is to strike at the very root of a system that defined women as dependents. For this, al-Sharif paid the price of imprisonment and exile, yet her words endure, for truth cannot be caged. They remind us that the destiny of a people shifts when even one soul dares to act as though freedom were already hers.

Let future generations remember: driving was never the destination, but the doorway. The true journey is toward equality, dignity, and self-determination. To be in the driver's seat of one’s own life is the birthright of every human being. Al-Sharif’s words are not only for the women of Saudi Arabia, but for all who are denied their rightful place as full citizens. For destiny belongs not to those who grant permission, but to those brave enough to claim it.