TEDCollections: Unit 2- “The Struggle for Freedom”Introduction Homework
1)First, read this short bio below on Manal al –Sharif from the TED lecture site. You can Google youtubeManal al-Sharif defies the Saudi Arabian driving ban for women to view the actual video she posted. As always, if there are words you don’t know, try to figure them out in context or look them up, please.
Bio: In May 2011, Manal al-Sharif filmed herself driving a car in Saudi Arabia, where women are prohibited from driving. Sheposted thevideoon 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 advocates for women’s right to drive, male guardianship annulment, and family protection in Saudi Arabia.
2) Next, watch the TED lecture called Manal al –Sharif: A Saudi Woman who Dared to Drive.
3)Using complete sentences, answer the following questions while watching or after watching the lecture. Remember to show and not just tell your answers.
1) What does al-Sharif say “hit her” (epiphany?) about her son’s plight?
2)What is the difference between a “law” and a “custom”?
3)What initiative does al-Sharif take?
4)How did the country react to her initiative?
5)Why aren’t women allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia?
6)Where in the video do we see an example of satire at work? Review your notes on “Harrison” if you have forgotten what this genre is.
7)What was her inner conflict and how was that conflict fueled?
8)After viewing this lecture, how would al-Sharif probably answer the following? Explain each with evidence from her lecture. It does not have to be direct text evidence, but it should be references specifically form the lecture.
a) What is more difficult to overcome: an oppressive government or an oppressive society?
b)Do we have to demand justice or should it be given to us?
c)MLK, Jr.’s words, “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period […] was not the vitriolic words or actions of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. “