This story follows a Saudi Arabian teenage girl over two years. It’s a personally narrated audio diary of a young woman who is in college and dreams of being a scientist and getting her PhD. While she is keeping this audio diary, she interviews her family and friends and explores her dreams and beliefs. Listen to hear scenes from her life.
Story Length: 22:20
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January 4, 2016
5:31
In an historic election for women in Saudi Arabia, women won 20 seats out of about 2,000 seats available on local councils. It was historic because even though women in Saudi Arabia are banned from driving, they were allowed to vote and be candidates for the first time. Women had to be creative in their campaigning to work around rules about women traveling unaccompanied and forced segregation of men and women. Since Saudi Arabia is a monarchy, the royal rulers make all the important political decisions and smaller decisions are left to local councils. Even considering the restrictions on women, this is a step toward women having a voice in Saudi Arabia.
Read MoreDecember 31, 2014
5:14
Conflict and violence in Syria have displaced women and children to surrounding nations. Refugees living in Beirut, Lebanon have found voice and kinship through the ancient tragedy Antigone. Sophocles wrote Antigone in 441 BCE. The play is about a Princess dealing with the loss of war and daring to challenge the powerful. 250 years later some Syrian women see themselves in Antigone and have adapted the play to reflect their experiences.
Read MoreOctober 25, 2013
4:25
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, activists are challenging the ban on women driving by taking the wheel and documenting their protests by video. Madiha Al Ajroush, a longtime advocate of women driving, compares the inability to drive like cutting one's legs off and taking the wheelchair away. This is not the first attempt to challenge the ban. There were two previous attempts in 1990 and 2011. Use this story to talk to your students about the struggle for women's rights on a global scale and how that compares to rights women currently have in the United States.
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