“In Saudi Arabia, they always tell us we are queens. We are pistachios....” — Manal al-Sharif Quote

In Saudi Arabia, they always tell us we are queens. We are pistachios. You know the nut? Like something that is protected. So even if you have a very good education, restraints are put on women.

Women tell me they are different since 21 May - the day I was arrested - it's a positive change, they believe now.

I almost got kidnapped trying to find a taxi in the street. In Saudi Arabia, it's not normal for a woman to walk in the street alone, and I don't cover my face, so I am an open target.

Denying women the right to drive has imposed huge costs on Saudi citizens.

In May 2011, I drove a car in the city of Khobar, Saudi Arabia, to protest the kingdom's ban on women driving.

I believe Saudi Arabia is the only Muslim country in which churches are prohibited.

I would like to find a way in which people in Saudi Arabia could learn that they can be something other than a Muslim. Some people may not realize this. Of course, there is the problem that you can get in trouble or get stoned.

My mother might find a thin gold chain at the back of a drawer, wadded into an impossibly tight knot, and give it to me to untangle. It would have a shiny, sweaty smell, and excite me: Gold chains linked you to the great fairy tales and myths, to Arabia, and India; to the great weight of the world, but lighter than a feather.

I'm rooting for Saudi Arabia getting a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council.