A computer scientist and activist for women’s rights, al-Sharif helped start a campaign for women’s right to drive in Saudi Arabia in 2011, when women were not legally allowed to drive there. She filmed herself driving and posted the video online; she was arrested twice and, after being released on bail, was barred from driving or speaking to the media. Because of her activism, al-Sharif and her family were harassed—she lost her job and custody of her son, and moved to Sydney, Australia, where she wrote a memoir about her experience, Daring to Drive. In June 2018, the Saudi government lifted the ban against women driving.