Culture
21:37, 13-Oct-2017
Saudi Arabia's next revolution: female taxi drivers
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Saudi women are getting ready to drive for the first time, as a government ban against the practice ends next June and together they have signed up for another revolution – to be the kingdom's first female cab drivers.
King Salman last month decreed that women will be allowed driving permits, a historic reform that could put not just millions of women behind the wheel but potentially many more into the workforce.
Sensing a lucrative opportunity, ride-hailing company Careem says it plans to hire up to 100,000 female chauffers to lure new clients in the gender-segregated kingdom.
The reform is in line with the kingdom's Vision 2030 program that seeks to elevate women to nearly one-third of the workforce, up from about 22 percent now.
Authorities have highlighted the economic benefits of the reform as the kingdom reels from a protracted oil slump. Saudi families would no longer need foreign chauffeurs, which is often a major source of financial strain.
Source(s): AFP