Twelve-year-old Wadjda wears jeans under her abaya and listens to rock music at home. Her strict headmistress regards her as the school rebel. Everyone is amazed when she enters a competition for Quranic recitation, winning enough money to achieve her secret purpose: buying a bicycle. Girls were forbidden to ride bicycles in Saudi Arabia, but Wadjda is ready to take on both the nervousness of her mother, constantly worried about pleasing her husband, and her vindictive headmistress. Director Haifaa Al Mansour presents sympathy for all her characters, giving a nuanced account of lives bound by social constraints.