Reflection

Manal Al Sharif's  example of Civil disobedience affects the history of Saudi Arabia. She will always be remembered as the first Saudi woman who dared to drive and expose it to the world. Her act might not have officially changed the cultural law because changing people's minds is hard but it is slowly changing Saudi women's views on themselves. Cultural laws are hard to abolish and there are people out there today that still don't believe in equality of all sexes or races.
To commit an act of passive resistance, one would need to be prepared to face adversity. This could go from getting point to going to jail but there will definitely be adversity and people not agreeing with the cause. A person who commits civil disobedience is alienating himself because he is going against a power that other people are scared of. Therefore, a lot of people might agree with the cause and not join by fear.
In my opinion, civil disobedience is effective because it challenges authorities and shows them that the real power belongs to the people.