Over 100 days have passed since Saudi Arabia officially allowed women to get on the road and drive themselves. From June 24 until now, thousands of Saudi women from across the country have been heading to driving schools, applying for driver’s licenses, and celebrating their first time behind the wheel after decades of being banned from driving. This week, however, one woman has won the hearts and minds of those in the Kingdom and beyond. After three attempts, 70-year-old Sabeeha Al Fakhr finally passed her driving exam and has turned her long-awaited dream of driving a car turn into reality.
According to Akhbaar 24, Al Fakhr took her driving course in Bahrain and was so determined to get her license that she was undeterred by her first two failed attempts. This inspiring woman is now qualified to drive herself and is back home to her town of Al Qateef in Saudi Arabia, driving herself around. In a touching video she shared on social media, Al Fakhr explained her journey to becoming an empowered and mobile individual:
"I failed my test two times, but I finally made it. I never gave up hope. I knew I wasn't passing because I was so nervous and not due to anything else […] After being trained in Bahrain, I didn't have anyone to help guide me through driving in the kingdom, so I taught myself," she explained.
#فيديو
— خبر عاجل (@AjelNews24) 15 octobre 2018
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مواطنة سبعينية من محافظة #القطيف بالمنطقة الشرقية تتمكن من اجتياز اختبار قيادة السيارة، وتحصل على رخصة قيادة رسمية رغم سنها المتقدمة.
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Al Fakhr not only revealed how she fought hard to be able to drive herself, she also shared how she put in some of that inspiring determination into getting an education, saying, “Even though I married young, my husband helped me get an education and I never quit until I got an accounting diploma."
Over the last few years, Saudi Arabia has been working hard to provide women with more freedoms and opportunities to grow and be more independent. As part of Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s ambitious efforts to diversify its oil-dependent economy, part of which involves increasing women’s employment from its current rate of 22 percent to 30 percent by 2030, women’s employment has risen significantly – up to 140 percent over the last four years.
