'No more a passenger': Driving schools for women take off in Saudi Arabia

Holly Ellyatt wrote this piece for CNBC on March 7, 2018. The story is pasted in below and a link to the story is here.

Holly Ellyatt | @HollyEllyatt 

Published 12 Hours Ago Updated 11 Hours Ago CNBC.com

AMER HILABI/AFP/Getty Images

A Saudi woman (front) receives a driving lesson from an Italian instructor in Jeddah on March 7, 2018.

Saudi Arabia's decision to overturn a ban on women driving could prove lucrative for international carmakers, with the likes of Ford launching driving schools for women ahead of the radical change in the law.
"I've always been a passenger in the car and I can't wait to get behind the wheel," said Shams Hakim, a female university student in Saudi Arabia. She's attending a driving school at Effat University in Jeddah.
"I'm excited, but I also have some apprehension about what is actually involved in driving," Hakim adds.
The student of Business Human Resources is one of 250 women who have signed up to carmaker Ford's Driving Skills for Life for Her (DSFL) program, essentially a hands-on driving school run by Ford that's based in the university. Hakim says the program has given her "the confidence and education I need for the journey that lies ahead to obtain my license."
Carmaker giant Ford has started a hands-on driving education course for women only, ahead of the lifting of the driving ban on women i the country. According to a royal decree, the ban has to be lifted before June 24 2018.
The overturning of the ban means that women will be allowed to drive in the conservative, religious country for the first time in decades. Hundreds of women have even signed up to become drivers for ride-hailing companies, like Careem.
Ford said more than 250 students joined the driving school program this week in the lead up to International Women's Day on Thursday. Previously, the law in Saudi Arabia had meant that Ford's driving school sessions were for men only.
"The DSFL for Her sessions have been tailor-made for Saudi women as they approach the day when they can legally drive on public roads," Ford said in a press release.
It said the lessons included learning about your vehicle — where students are taught the fundamentals of preparing to drive such as adjusting the seat, checking mirrors and correct hand position — things that drivers take for granted in many countries.

AMER HILABI/AFP/Getty Images

A Saudi woman poses for a photo with a certificate after completing Ford's driving course in Jeddah on March 7, 2018.

Safe braking and the dangers of driver distraction were also covered in the course. In Saudi Arabia, 7,500 road deaths in 2017 were attributed to the use of mobile phones while driving, the Saudi Gazette reported in early March.
The lifting of the driving ban on women is one of several societal reforms overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Along with overturning the driving ban, women are now allowed to attend sporting events in Saudi Arabia. A 35-year-old ban on cinemas has also been lifted as part of the crown prince's radical (for Saudi Arabia) reform drive.
Women are not formally banned from driving under Saudi law but it is illegal to grant them a driving license under the current system, effectively creating a ban. King Salman decreed in September 2017 that women were to be allowed to gain driver's licenses.
Although the majority of senior religious scholars approved the move, some traditionalists are not happy. One Saudi cleric was also suspended after he said women should not drive because their brains shrink to a quarter the size of a man's when they go shopping, according to Reuters.
Haifa Jamalallail, president of Effat University, said the reform was overdue: "The wheels of change are constantly moving, and finally Saudi Arabia has caught up with the rest of the world with regard to women driving. Statistics show that women are generally safer and more defensive drivers than men," he said.
Road safety is a key issue in a country where 9,000 people were killed in car accidents in 2016, according to Arab News.
Women in Saudi Arabia appear to be relishing the life-changing opportunity to drive with women's universities offering to open up driving schools, Reuters reported, and companies like Ford keen to attract a lucrative new customer base.
Ford said that women who are not able to participate in person will be able to view online videos featuring a female student learning the basics from a female instructor in Arabic with English subtitles. The carmaker said it also plans to expand the program across the Saudi Kingdom in the future.
Jim Vella, president of the Ford Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Ford Motor Company, was in Saudi Arabia for the launch of the driving school around International Women's Day.
"We are thrilled to be part of this historic milestone as we bring Ford Driving Skills for Life for Her to Saudi Arabia," he said. "This program is designed to help young women feel safe and confident behind the wheel for the first time, and with it, we look forward to welcoming a new generation of women to the driver's seat."

Holly Ellyatt

‘Oh My God’ Turns to ‘Yay Me’ as Saudi Women Practice Driving

Ben Hubbard wrote this piece in the March 5, 2018 New York Times about women preparing to drive in Saudi Arabia. Effat University hosted a driving skills course on its campus, put on by Ford. A link to the story is here,  and the story is pasted below. The photos in the original story are great, they were taken by Tasneem Alsultan.

JIDDA, Saudi Arabia — “O.K. Come drive now,” said the trainer.

“Oh my God,” the architecture student replied.

She climbed into the driver’s seat, put on her seatbelt, found the pedals, released the hand brake and put the car into drive. Then she took a deep breath, eased her foot off the brake and began doing, for the first time, what women will soon be doing all over Saudi Arabia: driving.

“Is this O.K.?” the student, Rahaf Alzahrani, 21, asked nervously as she inched along.

“Yes. It’s O.K.,” the instructor said.

Three and a half months remain before the date when the rulers of this ultraconservative kingdom have promised to lift the longstanding ban on women driving, and many here are already planning for what is sure to be a major change in Saudi society.

Women’s universities have announced that they plan to open driving schools, and car companies have shifted their ads, seeking to profit from the anticipated flood of new drivers — and car buyers — in this country of 32 million.

Uber is planning to recruit women to train women who aspire to be Uber drivers, and some dealerships have already set aside shopping hours for women. Ford, Nissan, Jaguar and even Coca-Cola have sought to capitalize on the buzz around women sliding into the driver’s seat.

Saudi women are approaching the change with an often complicated mix of enthusiasm and apprehension, as was tangible on Monday on the campus of Effat University in this Red Sea port city, where a number of young women piloted cars for the first time.

The university may later open a driving school for women, administrators said, but it is waiting for the government to issue the proper regulations. So the course was a more of a workshop offered by the Ford Motor Company Fund that sought to improve drivers’ safety. Since Saudi Arabia does not yet issue licenses to women, the course was aimed at women who had no experience being in charge of cars.

About 15 female students gathered in a classroom for the start of one workshop. They all wore abayas, the baggy gowns Saudi women wear to hide their forms in public. Most had their hair covered and a few covered their faces, too. Some wore tennis shoes and jeans underneath and lugged backpack and handbags.

The workshop began with a brief talk about road safety, car accidents and the huge number of them caused by texting at the wheel. Then the women broke up for more hands-on experiences.

In an outdoor courtyard, they donned goggles meant to simulate impaired vision from medication, drowsiness or drunkenness, which is not usually a problem, since alcohol is banned in the kingdom. Then they had to pilot a small wheel on the end of a pole across a map on the ground while paying attention to streets, stop signs and pedestrians.

But the real action was in an enclosed parking lot nearby, where there were real cars.

Groups of women sat in the cars while instructors explained their features: the gear shift, the gas and brake pedals, the temperature gauge, the cruise-control buttons, the turn signals and windshield wipers. At one point, a student sitting in a driver’s seat sprayed the windshield, making all of the other women laugh.

Finally, the instructor told the woman to put her foot on the brake and push the ignition button. The car roared to life and a smile bloomed on her face.

“All right!” she said, and the other women clapped.

It is hard to overstate how much the right to drive will change the lives of Saudi women. Women were long kept out of public life in Saudi Arabia, segregated from men in most settings, limited to a small number of professions or encouraged to stay home, and forced to rely on private drivers or male relatives to pilot them around.

But much has changed for Saudi women in recent years as they have been allowed to work in new fields and appointed to high-profile positions, and have graduated in ever-increasing numbers from universities. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, has spoken of the importance of increasing women’s role in the work force as part of his effort to diversify the economy away from oil.

The women at the workshop all approved of having the right to drive, and some had already set their sights on specific cars. One wanted an Audi.

“It’s a strong car,” she said.

Another wanted a Mercedes, “like my dad.”

Yet another said she would send her Indian driver home and drive his car.

They said being able to drive would decrease their reliance on those who now have to ferry them around, while putting them in charge of their own schedules.

“I don’t want to drive just to drive,” said Rehab Alhuwaider, 21. “I want to be able to do my daily routine.”

She said she hated it when she wanted to go to the gym in the morning and had to wait for someone to drop her off. The best part of driving, she said, would be “feeling more freedom.”

But some were not sure they were ready to face Saudi Arabia’s often ferocious traffic, or male drivers who have no experience interacting with women on the roads.

Raneem Modaress, 22, said she had wanted to drive before a car she was riding in got hit a month ago, leaving her with bad bruises up and down her side.

“It was terrible,” she said.

Now she plans to wait to see how it goes for other women before getting her own license.

The workshop concluded with what remains a rare opportunity for women in Saudi Arabia: the chance to drive a car through a course of cones in a parking lot.

Before she got her shot behind the wheel, Ms. Alzahrani, the architecture student, said she had driven Jet Skis in the Red Sea and motorcycles in the desert, but never cars. The thought of doing so made her nervous.

“I don’t know where the brake is and where the gas is,” she said.

She started slowly, then rounded the first curve, then the second. She approached a stop sign and hit the brake too hard, causing the other passengers to jolt forward. She laughed nervously and then went forward again before reaching the end and stopping with a slightly lighter jolt.

“Praise God for your safety,” the instructor said.

“Yay me!” she said.

The drive had taken only a few minutes, but it had changed her outlook on the whole endeavor.

“It was so amazing. I loved it,” she said. “It felt good to be behind the wheel.”

Princess Reema: driving is not the 'be all' of Saudi women's rights

This AFP story was printed in the National, on March 2, 2018. You can link to the story here and the text is below.

Princess Reema bint Bandar at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC. Ian Timberlake / AFP Photo

 Saudi official says 'quick wins' for women are just part of a bigger vision

Saudi Arabia is working to address deeper issues than the recent "quick wins" on the path to greater women's rights, one of the Kingdom's leading female officials said.
"These are things that are quick wins. We know we can do them - women in stadiums, women driving - that's great, but women driving is not the end all, be all of women's rights," Princess Reema bint Bandar told the Atlantic Council in Washington.
In 2016 the Princess was appointed Vice-President for Development and Planning at Saudi Arabian General Sports Authority, the first woman to serve in a senior post in the Authority, which is the equivalent of a government ministry.
As part of a wide-ranging social and economic reform, King Salman announced in September that Saudi women would be allowed to drive from June this year.
The Kingdom, the world's only country where women cannot get behind the wheel, then tackled the male bastion of football, letting women into stadiums to watch matches for the first time in January.

Princess Reema said deeper issues are still being worked on including "a woman feeling safe in her home" and having any career path open to her in a traditionally male-dominated society.
"Those are things that will be more dynamic in moving the conversation for women's rights than just getting her driving," she said.
"Domestic violence is so critical. I promise you we really are working on it."
The Sports Authority is trying to get more Saudis exercising as part of efforts to build a healthier population. Princess Reema said traditional clothing worn by Saudi women will be no hindrance to women's exercise.
She said she knows of three companies making abayas for running and two more that have robes designed for cycling.

"Innovation will come. It has to come," she said. "Guess what, I'm wearing trousers today."
The Kingdom sent four women as "wild cards" to the 2016 Olympics. Princess Reema said that she will be happy when one gets to a future Olympics "on her own merit ... however long it takes."

First female Saudi Ferrari owner joins Italians to celebrate women driving

 This story appeared in the English daily Arab News on 2/28/18. A link to the story is here,  and the story is pasted below. 

JEDDAH: Aseel Al-Hamad, the first Saudi woman board member at the Saudi Arabia motor federation and the first Saudi female to own a Ferrari, was a special guest at the Italian Culture Center’s event on Feb. 27 called “Saudi Women Can Drive.”
Diplomatic guests included Vincenzo Amendola, undersecretary of state of Italy, and Luca Ferrari, the Ambassador of Italy to Saudi Arabia in Riyadh.
Elisabetta Martini, the consul general of Italy in Jeddah, said: “The royal decree issued last September which has removed the ban on Saudi women to drive in their own country opens a huge market now for many companies.
“Mostly it was a dream that came true and tonight’s event is not about economy but about dreams. The two companies represented here, Ferrari and Maserati, are brands that have contributed the most in the creation of the Italian dream.”
Al-Hamad is an interior design engineer graduate and businesswomen who followed her dream about Ferrari cars. She decided to reward herself because of her successful business (a design company), and the reward was a roaring Ferrari car. She said how glad she was about the royal decree, which will have “a positive reflection for the country socially and economically.”
“I was so pleased by the decision, just like any other Saudi woman, and I was assured that my decision to buy the car of my dreams was the best decision to make. am so happy because I will drive soon in the Kingdom.”
Amendola told Arab News: “The reform decision helps use the energy of this country, especially of women in this young generation. This energy can help to achieve the reform that the government is presenting. The friendship between our countries is historical but now there are many projects that we are planning together.”
Another attendee said: “I am American by blood but Saudi at heart, and women being able to drive is absolutely superb. It rocks!”
Two Italian car brands presented a number of cars in the event, including Maserati. A short documentary was played about Maria Teresa de Filippis, an Italian who was the first woman to race in Formula One. She participated in five World Championship Grands Prix after May 1958, but scored no championship points. Though her Formula One career was brief, she won races in other series and is remembered as a pioneer in the sport.
Saudi women will be free to drive in the Kingdom by June 24.

Ford and Effat University Help Women Make History in Saudi Arabia with Driving Skills for Life for Her

Ford Motor Company and Effat University are teaming up to train women to drive when they are permitted to, starting on June 10, 2018. The press release is below.

Here is a youtube of a student from Effat University talking about the program and urging her fellow students to register.

 

• Ford Driving Skills for Life for Her – the first event of its kind since the historical royal decree lifting the ban on women obtaining a driver’s license in Saudi Arabia last year – makes its global debut at Jeddah’s Effat University, March 5-8
• Customized introductory program, led by certified trainers, will focus on helping women build confidence behind the wheel by instilling safe driving practices on a closed course
• Since launching in the Middle East in 2013, more than 3,600 students have participated in Ford’s award-winning Driving Skills for Life program, with sessions in three different cities across Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates last year alone

DUBAI, UAE, Feb. 18, 2018 – Ford Motor Company is assisting Saudi Arabian women ahead of them gaining the power of mobility by hosting a special four-day Driving Skills for Life program with Effat University. The groundbreaking course – Driving Skills for Life for Her – follows the landmark decision by the Kingdom, as decreed by His Highness, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, to lift the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia.
“Ford Motor Company was built on the belief that freedom of movement drives human progress, so we are honored to have the opportunity to support women in the Kingdom during such an extraordinary time, and to welcome them to the driver’s seat,” said Jim Vella, president, Ford Motor Company Fund. “Our Driving Skills for Life for Her program provides access to training and experiences that will help women feel safe and confident as they get behind the wheel.”
Based on Ford’s award-winning global safe driving initiatives, Driving Skills for Life has customized an introductory program that focuses on building women’s confidence behind the wheel, expanding their automotive knowledge, preparing them to take driving lessons, and instilling safe driving practices before they tackle public roads.
The first-ever Driving Skills for Life for Her introductory program anywhere in the world will have certified instructors providing training at Effat University’s Jeddah campus. Calling on her fellow students to partake, Shams Hakim, Business HR student at Effat, announced the program on YouTube today, which can be viewed here.
Scheduled March 5-8, the program will train more than 250 Effat University students, incorporating four modules of in-vehicle experiences – one on learning about the vehicle, another on distraction, one on impairment and another on dealing with braking. The sessions will be preceded by a briefing with the lead instructor.
“Effat University is well known for its innovative education, driving women forward to take their rightful places in society and the workforce. We are proud to be able to partner with Ford to ensure that our students are also prepared to become responsible, safe drivers,” said Dr. Haifa Jamalallail, president of Effat University. “We believe in driving change, but driving safely, and this is exactly what the Safe Driving Skills for Life program is all about.”
Driving Skills for Life is an international initiative for road safety created by Ford Fund in cooperation with the Governors Highway Safety Association and a panel of safety experts. Ford’s signature program captures the interest of newly licensed drivers with free, hands-on ride-and-drive courses that pair them with professional instructors. It focuses on the issues and obstacles that cause crashes, including impaired and distracted driving.
Now in its 15th year, Ford Driving Skills for Life has provided free training to more than 1 million newly licensed drivers in 40 countries worldwide. In total, Ford has invested more than $40 million in Driving Skills for Life initiatives worldwide as part of its longstanding commitment to promoting safety on the road.
Since launching in the Middle East in 2013, more than 3,600 students have participated in Ford’s Driving Skills for Life program, with sessions in three cities across Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates last year alone.
This new installment of Driving Skills for Life for Her will be an ongoing program for women drivers in the Kingdom, with phase two launching later this year.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 202,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

Ford’s history in the Middle East goes back more than 60 years. The company’s local importer-dealers operate more than 155 facilities in the region and directly employ more than 7,000 people, the majority of whom are Arab Nationals. For more information on Ford Middle East, please visit www.me.ford.com.

Ford Middle East is also a responsible corporate citizen with currently various CSR initiatives running in the region including the Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants, Ford Warriors in Pink^® breast cancer awareness campaign, Ford Driving Skills for Life for young drivers and the Henry Ford Entrepreneurship Academy education initiative for young entrepreneurs.

About Ford Motor Company Fund

Ford Motor Company Fund is the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company. Established in 1949, Ford Fund invests in transformational programs that advance innovation, empower people, promote social mobility and improve community prosperity. Ford Fund works with local and global partners to create opportunities in education, encourage safe driving, enlist employee volunteers and enrich community life. For more information, visit http://community.ford.com, or join us on Facebook @FordFund and Twitter @FordFund.

Ideal Driver Award to include women starting next year

The English language daily Saudi Gazette reported (on February 17, 2018) that starting in 2019, Saudi women drivers will be eligible to win a safe driving award with a 500,000 SR prize. You can link to the story here and read the text below.

Khalid Al-Balahdi

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

DAMMAM — The Eastern Province Traffic Safety Committee has announced that it will include women drivers in the annual Ideal Driver Award next year after making necessary amendment in the regulations for the prize.

Abdullah Al-Rajhi, secretary-general of the committee, said the next round of the award will be its fifth edition and will include women candidates for the first time.

“We will look into the award’s rules and regulations and amend them to allow the participation of women. One of the award’s regulations is to have a clean driving record free of any traffic violations for three years prior to the date of the award. This rule will have to be amended since women will start to drive in the Kingdom only this year,” said Al-Rajhi.

Saudi Aramco has nearly completed a driving school for women employees of the company and it has also cooperated with Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University to give technical support and consultancy for setting up their own driving school for women, Al-Rajhi said.

“Prizes worth up to half a million riyals are up for grabs by the winners of the Ideal Driver Award. Support from Emir of the Eastern Province Prince Saud Bin Naif, who is head of the Traffic Safety Committee, and his deputy Prince Ahmad Bin Fahd Bin Salman is the core reason behind the success of the committee. They both believe in the committee’s purpose and cause,” said Al-Rajhi.

He claimed that the committee was successful in bringing down the rate of accidents in the province by 41 percent since 2012.

“The death rate from road accidents in the Kingdom is currently a victim every hour. An average of 25 people die every day and over 9,000 people die every year due to road accidents. This is in addition to some 38,000 people who are severely injured each year. All of this is due to drivers and pedestrians violating traffic safety laws,” said Al-Rajhi.

He added victims of road accidents occupy 30 percent of hospital beds in the country and they cause an annual economic loss of SR27 billion in terms of the cost of treatment and missed days of work.

The Ideal Driver Award contains a number of categories.

“There is an award for the excellent private driver and an award for the excellent public driver. The award is granted to both the private and public sectors and also to school and university drivers," said Abdulhameed Al-Mujil, president of the Saudi Association for Traffic Safety.

He urged Saudi families to sign their drivers up for the award to encourage them to follow road safety regulations.

1,000 Saudi women have signed up as Careem drivers

In the Gulf region, an Uber-like company called Careem employs thousands of drivers. Here is a story by Harriet Pudney (posted 2/15/18) from Emirates Woman magazine about 1,000 Saudi women signing up to be drivers for Careem. A link to the story is here, and the story is below.

They’ll be hitting the road from June.

Dubai-based ride-sharing app Careem has opened up applications for women in Saudi Arabia, and 1,000 have already put their names forward.
Speaking to Thomson Reuters site Zawya, co-founder Magnus Olsson said Careem was looking to expand significantly in the country.
The Saudi government has ruled that any new drivers for apps like Careem must be nationals. Existing expat drivers are allowed to continue, Zawya reports.
 These changes come as part of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s ambitious post-oil economy plan which hopes to increase participation of women in the workforce and diversify the country’s industries.
“There is still so much room for growth in the Saudi market. Small parts of the population in Saudi are using services such as Careem, and, as economic activity increases, there will be more need to move around, whether for jobs or other private activities,” Olsson told the site.
In September, it was announced that the ban on women behind the wheel would end in June this year.
The initiative, spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aims to make Saudi a more modern, tourist-friendly destination.
The crown prince is also behind an initiative to turn 200 kilometres of the country’s Red Sea coast into a series of luxury retreats.