Voting Station

Manal Al-Sharif

Please vote to return to collections.

Advocate

The Resume

    (April 25, 1979- )
    Born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
    One of the co-founders of the Women2Drive campaign, which fights for women’s right to drive in Saudi Arabia
    Former Internet Security Consultant for Saudi Aramco
    Filmed driving her car around Khobar by Wajeha al-Huwaider and subsequently imprisoned (May 2011)
    Campaigned for the release of Saudi, Indonesian, and Filipino women prisoners for small debts they couldn’t pay (May 30, 2011)
    Falsely reported dead (January 23, 2012)

Why she might be annoying:

    She is divorced.
    She once burned her brother’s pop cassettes in the oven after mullahs disapproved of the music.
    She initially supported Islamic radicals until the 9/11 attacks.
    Her rise to fame may have more to do with Arab Spring than her actual actions, as the fight for Saudi women to drive predated her activities.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She fights for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, a country notorious for denying women many basic rights.
    The video showing her driving had 600,000 views in YouTube and Facebook.
    She was forced to quit her job after her employers increasingly marginalized her for driving.
    Even worse, she was kicked out of her apartment because it was owned by the company she worked for.
    She had to deal with death threats, struggling to take care of her parents and young son, and a fatwa issued against her.

Credit: Big Lenny


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 16 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 8 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 38 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 80 Votes: 50.0% Annoying