SHARJAH — Huda Al-Matroushi is one of few Emirati women to
venture into the car repair business, an industry that has long been dominated
by men in the Arab world.
اضافة اعلان
“I enjoy it a lot,” says Matroushi, holding up her
oil-stained work glove. “Because I’m on top of my job, and it’s my business, I
belong to it: I feel proud of myself.”
Cars have been a hobby for Matroushi, 36, since childhood.
“I like cars and their models and their details. I like
sports cars, I like luxurious cars, even normal non-luxurious cars, I love them
all.”
She turned that passion into a profession and now owns and
manages a car repair shop in
Sharjah, one of the seven emirates that make up
the United Arab Emirates.
Matroushi’s family had doubts about her pursuing a job in
car mechanics, but she asked her father to take a leap of faith with her.
“I said: ‘Dad, please trust me and you will see what I will
do.’ He said: ‘OK, OK!’ Most of my family are surprised ... because this
project, this business, it’s not easy for ladies,” she said.
Matroushi’s male employee, Mohammed Halawani, said it was
initially strange to see a woman in charge of the garage.
“But after I joined and we started working and she’d tell
me: disassemble this, assemble that, (it was clear) that she has experience.”
Matroushi hopes she can transform her single garage into a
big repair center, or open more garages across the UAE.
The
UAE stipulates under new legislation that came into
effect last month that UAE-based companies must have at least one woman on
their board of directors.
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