CAIRO — As it prepares to expand to serve a
population now exceeding 20 million, the Cairo metro has recruited
Egypt’s
first female train drivers, a novelty in a country where few women have formal
jobs.
اضافة اعلان
Since April, commuters on the network’s newest line
have seen women take the controls in the driver’s cab, with reactions ranging
from raised eyebrows to outright disapproval, according to the two pioneers.
Egyptian women have had the right to vote and stand
for office since 1956, but patriarchal legislation and a male-dominated culture
have severely limited personal rights.
The Cairo metro itself provides reserved carriages
for women who do not wish to ride with men in an attempt to provide protection
against sexual harassment.
Business graduate and mother of two Hind Omar said
she had rushed to apply to be a train driver, eager to be a pioneer in a
country where only 14.3 percent of women are in formal employment, according to
2020 figures.
“I have several
thousand lives in my hands every day,” the 30-year-old told AFP, proudly wearing
a fluorescent jacket emblazoned with the RATP-Dev logo of the foreign
operations arm of the Paris metro beneath her black and white headscarf.
Omar acknowledged that she had been lucky to have
the support of her family.
“My parents found it strange at first but they ended
up supporting me,” she said.
“My husband was enthusiastic from the start and
always encouraged me.”
A key factor had been the exemption from night
shifts offered to women drivers, she said.
Omar said the tests for would-be drivers had been
grueling, requiring candidates to demonstrate their “attention span” and
“endurance”.
She said drivers had to remain “extremely vigilant
for long hours” during a six-day working week.
Omar was one of two women accepted for the training
program run by Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels in cooperation with
RATP-Dev.
The other, Suzanne Mohamed, 32, recalled the first
time commuters on the platform saw her in the driver’s cab.
She said she could understand “they were surprised”
in a country where women have limited access to many careers.
“Some passengers were afraid,” she told AFP. “They
doubted my skills and said they didn’t feel safe with a woman at the controls.”
Launched in 1987, the Cairo metro is the oldest in
the
Arab world but it has fallen behind other Arab countries in providing
employment opportunities for women.
Moroccan Saida Abad became the first female train driver in
Africa and the Arab world in 1999.
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