News Desk
ISLAMABAD: Ayah Abdulrahman Taher, 28, from Makkah, is one of thirty-four women train drivers who recently started working on the Haramain high-speed railway between the Kingdom’s holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
Her success in this traditionally male-dominated sector is indicative of the vast social transformation underway in the country, thanks to reforms introduced in 2016 as part of Saudi Vision 2030.
Taher obtained a university degree in English literature but jumped at the job opportunity to start an exciting career with the country’s railways when she learned of a new, year-long training scheme.
Taher said that she wanted to become one of the first female train drivers in Saudi Arabia.
Over 28,000 women applied for limited opportunities when they were first revealed in January 2022. Of these, 14,000 completed the 1st phase of the selection process and passed through an on-site test at the Saudi Railway Polytechnic in Qassim.
The Haramain railway, which started service in October 2018, shuttles visitors and pilgrims to the Grand Mosque of Makkah.
Women’s training program of train driving
The women’s training program, which started in March 2022, includes 1,157 hours of practical and theoretical modules covering everything from traffic control and technical issues to health and safety regulations.
Practical training offered 674 hours of driving monitored by Renfe KSA supervisors, one of the companies running the high-speed train project.
Vision 2030’s Quality of Life Program Center’s senior adviser Norah Al-Yusuf said that there is a shift now in Kigdom’s society where women have gone from being housewives, which is a very important job, to take on responsibilities outside of the home within the country’s workforce.
She said that more Saudi women in the workforce contribute to the country’s economic growth and allow females to be financially independent. But on the other hand, one must look at the social values that are changing as a result.
