RIYADH – Dubai based ride-hailing company, Careem has introduced its first female driver to facilitate commuters in Saudi Arabia.
Enaam Gazi Al-Aswad was chosen from among 3,000 women to become the first ‘Captainah’; the initiative came weeks before the oil-rich kingdom is set to allow women to drive.
The women would be allowed to drive cars in the ultra-conservative country from June 24th, 2018. The authorities have made all the necessary preparations in this regard.
“It is wonderful to think that after all this time we will have the freedom to drive. It will help all of us build the future together in accordance with the Vision 2030 strategy,” Enaam was quoted as saying by the Arab News.
The 43-year-old lady learned driving in her native country Syria and has a driving license from the same violence-battered country.
Al-Aswad expects to be able to obtain a Saudi license after completing 10 hours of driving tuition under the new Saudi laws.
She has already received all the necessary training from her employer Careem after being roped in by the company after last year’s royal decree on women driving.
Expressing his views over the landmark hiring, Mudassir Sheikha, the co-founder and CEO of Careem, said that he expects new business to eventually make up for any short-term fall-off in revenues when women are able to take to the roads themselves.
Previously, women in Saudi Arabia were not allowed to drive a car and the hydrocarbon-rich kingdom was the last country in the world where women were barred from driving.
Saudi King Salman ordered last year, the reform in a royal decree requesting that drivers’ licenses be issued to aspiring women drivers.
