Egypt metro hires first women drivers to accelerate gender equality | Pics here

The Cairo metro, as it gets ready to expand to accommodate a population that has surpassed 20 million, has hired Egypt's first women train drivers, a novelty in a nation where few women hold formal professions. Since 1956, Egyptian women have been able to vote and run for office, but patriarchal laws and a predominately male culture have severely restricted personal freedoms.

Published on: Aug 21, 2022 2:00 PM IST

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Suzanne Mohamed, an Egyptian woman metro train driver, poses through the entrance of a life-size train simulator at Adly Mansour station in the capital Cairo. (AFP)

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Hind Omar, another Egyptian woman metro train driver, pilots a life-size train simulator. Hind- a business graduate and mother of two - said she wanted to break new ground in a nation where, according to 2020 statistics, only 14.3 percent of women are in official employment. (AFP)

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Omar and Suzanne were the two women accepted for the training programme run by Egypt's National Authority for Tunnels in cooperation with RATP-Development - the foreign operations arm of the Paris metro. (AFP)

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Launched in 1987, despite being the oldest metro in the Arab world, Egypt has failed to provide fair employment opportunities for women.  (AFP)

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With this opportunity, Omar said she hoped her example would help “pave the way for other women.” (AFP)