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After Driving Ban Ends, Saudi Women See New Job as Drivers

Women drivers took to the streets of Saudi Arabia this week as a ban against them driving was lifted. Now a new job possibility has arisen for Saudi women: professional driver.

Traditionally, only men have filled such jobs in Saudi Arabia. And the majority of professional drivers are from poor countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Until recently, many Saudi men refused to do the job because they believed the work to be below their social station.

Saudi women who want to work as drivers for car services are testing traditional limits in the deeply conservative¹ country.

Saudi Arabia was the last country in the world to bar women from driving. And, women still must get permission from a male relative before they can drive, get a job or passport, and travel outside the country.

Ammal Farahat has a master’s degree and runs her own business. The mother of two told the Associated Press, “It’s very natural for people to resist change.”

She added, “Once they start seeing more positive images and opportunities and what it means for women to drive, they’re going to change their minds.”

Farahat has driver’s licenses³ from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. She has signed up to be a driver for the car service Careem, a local competitor to Uber.

For many women who sign up to become drivers, the job provides another earnings⁴ source and greater financial independence.

Careem co-founder Abdullah Elyas said of women employees, “We are empowering them to be their own boss, to drive or work whenever they want, and to work how long they want, as well. Perfect for women who are in the workforce⁵.”

The government provides jobs for about 70 percent of Saudis. However, with falling oil profits, the government cannot provide enough jobs for the growing number of Saudis entering the workforce.

Careem said 2,000 women have registered as drivers since September, when officials announced they would cancel the ban. The international car service company, Uber, said over 100 Saudi women have expressed interest in employment as drivers.

In recent years, thousands of young Saudi men have signed up also. More than 150,000 registered with Uber. About 170,000 signed up with Careem.

But 80 percent of Uber’s customers are women; for Careem that percentage is 70.

While there has been a loosening⁶ of social restrictions⁸ in recent years, Saudi culture still rejects the mixing of unrelated men and women. A male driver talking with a female passenger can lead to a report of a problem.

To deal with this restriction⁷, Uber added a new feature in Saudi Arabia that permits women drivers to choose women riders. And Careem said its drivers could accept or refuse a ride request based on sex.

Farahat spoke⁹ of her young daughter and niece as she drove around the streets of Riyadh, the Saudi capital. They would never know the trouble her generation went through to get from one place to another, she said.

“They’re not growing up in the same Saudi Arabia I grew up in at all,” Farahat said.

I'm Caty Weaver¹⁰.

Words in This Story

positive - adj. good or useful

opportunity - n. a situation in which something can be done

license² - n. an official document

1 conservative   

adj.保守的，守旧的；n.保守的人，保守派

参考例句：

• He is a conservative member of the church.他是一个守旧教会教友。
• The young man is very conservative.这个年轻人很守旧。

2 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

3 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

4 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

5 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

6 loosening   

v.解开( loosen的现在分词 )；放松；松弛；（使）放松

参考例句：

• The runners are just loosening up before the race. 参加赛跑的人在开赛之前正做一些准备活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ties that bind them together are loosening. 将他们紧密联系在一起的纽带正在弱化。 来自辞典例句

7 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。