Riyadh: Saudi women have now stepped into a new profession that was earlier only the preserve of men. Women in Saudi Arabia have now stepped into the shoes of car mechanics.
According to a report by Agence France-Presse published on Friday, the Petromin Express workshop, located on the Red Sea coast in western Saudi Arabia, decided to implement the trend in which the government is pushing, in terms of opening work fields for men and women in different sectors.
The director of the centre, Ibrahim Al-Zubaidi, explained that the experiment was successful after training the girls, as the results were better than expected, expressing his hope to open more centres after the success of this experiment.
The women mechanics faced difficulties when entering the male-dominated world over — and even more so in the conservative Muslim kingdom.
The mechanics talk about the first months at the job, which aroused suspicion and anxiety for them, while they were sometimes subjected to mistreatment by some customers.
One of the workers, Ghada Ahmed, said, “I suffered at the beginning, and I would go home sad and my hands were swollen and crying and saying this job was not for me. It seems that what they (the men) are saying is true.”
According to AFP, Ola Flimban, a 44-year-old mother of four, said that she heard about the job on social media and immediately asked her husband if she could apply for the job. He agreed and helped her prepare for the interview by teaching her the names of different auto parts.
The promotion of women’s rights is among the most prominent points of Vision 2030, launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which aims to diversify the economy and change the image of extremism prevailing in the world.
In recent years, the kingdom has reduced the guardianship rules that give men powers over the women of their families.
