Enaam Gazi Al Aswad has become the first Careem female driver in Saudi Arabia, according to Arab News.
The Middle East’s ride-hailing firm announced the trailblazing move, as the kingdom gears up to lifting the ban on women’s driving on June 24.
Al Aswad was selected to become the first “captainah” — the female version of the Careem “captain,” as the firm calls its drivers — from among around 3,000 women looking for employment with the company.
The 43-year-old divorcee learned how to drive in her native Syria, and has a driving licence from that country.
She expects to be able to obtain a Saudi licence after she completes 10 hours of driving tuition under the new laws.
She has already received all the necessary training from Careem to enable her to become a “captainah,” having been hand-picked by the Dubai-based company soon after last year’s royal decree on women driving.
Al Aswad trained as an airline flight attendant in Saudi Arabia before studying management science at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, where she lives.
She expects that being a Careem driver will be the stepping stone to a better life for her and her two sons.