WORLDWIDE


We have a mix of good news and not- so-good news inWWTF this time; we’ll get the bad news out of the way first. How horrible – but not surprising these days – that aminibuswas fired upon and 11 of its


passengers were killed in South Africa. Random? Planned? They don’t know yet, but it doesn’t bring the victims back. Then we have the perfect example of why women should not apply eyemake-up in taxis: the young lady in Bangkokmirac- ulously escaped losing her sight. Amazing. Then we have a reason not to indulge in EU-bashing, for a change: a possible extra green vehicle on our taxi fleets maybe? And finally, as traditions break down and eyes are open, women drivers are welcomed in three Saudi cities. Hear hear!


job to help the victim. This should be a warning to women who do their make-up while cars are still running because accidents can always happen. This was a strange accident and unexpected but nobody can predict these incidents. “We have to be prepared.’’


from Saudi Arabia


RIDERS HAIL SAUDI ARABIA’S FIRST FEMALE PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS


from Thailand


WOMAN STABS EYELINER PENCIL IN HER EYE WHEN TAXI CRASHES IN BANGKOK


A youngwoman showedwhy you shouldn’t put make-up on in a moving car when she stabbed an eyeliner pencil into her eye. According to the Mirror, the woman, in her 20s, was sit- ting in the back of a taxi in slow-moving traffic


in


Bangkok, Thailand on a recent Tuesday afternoon as she applied some eyeliner. But she had to be rushed to hospital after the driver acci- dentally shunted into the back of a pick-up truck, causing the woman to jolt forward with the pencil still in her hand. She hitthe seat in front of her and the pencil was rammed into her skull, just missing her brain. Miraculously, her sight has been left unaffected, according to medics who treated her. Paramedic Thanabodee Sabbodi said the crash was minor but the ‘’freak accident’’ had caused half of the pencil to plunge into the eye socket of the young woman, who has not been identified. He said: ‘’The crash happened at 5.20pm in Din Daeng area of Bangkok while the lady was putting onmake-up on her way outside for the evening. ‘’We received a call and there was one injured female with an eye- brow pencil inserted into her left eye. She was in a lot of pain when we came but she could still talk to us and explain what happened. There was not a lot of blood but she had a small nose bleed.’’ The girl was still conscious and taken to the Rajavithi Hospital where medics removed the pencil without any lasting injuries. Thanabodee added: ‘’The rescue team and the doctors did a great


The woman was applying makeup in the back of a cab when the accident happened


70


Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - the first female driver for Uber’s Middle East rival is helping to set a new course for women integrating into the kingdom’s workforce now that they are allowed to take the wheel. Ammal Farhat is a 45-year-old divorcedmother of two young children. She recently drove her sport-utility vehicle to one of Jeddah’s popular shopping malls, “It’s my first mall pickup,” she told the Wall Street Journal, while adjusting her GPS. Ms. Farhat is amongmore than 2,000womenwho applied to drive for Careem, a popular ride-hailing app, after the Saudi government last year announced the lifting of the female driving ban as part of major social and economic overhauls. Women driving is the most visible sign of that social change in a country where Islamic conservatism and tribal traditions have long dominated public life. The ban’s lifting also has a significant economic benefit - it makes it easier and cheaper for women to be a part of the Saudi labour pool, and even pursue careers as professional drivers, as the monarchy pushes to diversify the economy away from oil by boosting the pri- vate sector. Many Saudis, especially young people, havewelcomed those changes - led by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the country’s 32-year- old de facto ruler - but they have also drawn criticism from conservatives and an older generation that benefited fromSaudi Ara- bia’s cradle-to-grave welfare system. Until recently, it was rare to see even Saudi men work as drivers, a job considered shameful by many Saudis and typically taken by low-paid foreign workers. Attitudes are beginning to change now largely because of economic pressures and as the government pushes the private sector to hire more Saudis, who now account for just about a fifth of such workers. Today, most Careem and Uber drivers are Saudi locals. Careemand Uber have prepared towelcomewomen drivers since the lifting of the banwas announced last year. Some ride-hail drivers such as Ms. Farhathave taken to the roads in the kingdom’s three largest cities: Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. To help overcome the stigma attached to driving, Careem bans the use of the word driver and brands themas “captains” or “captainahs” for women now. “It’s a mark of respect,” said Hashim Larry, Careem’s general manager in Saudi Arabia. “It’s not just about driving a car, it’s about customer care and knowing a city’s landmarks.” Uber says ithas pledgedmore than a quarter of amillion dollars since March to support women interested in obtaining a driver’s licence by financing their driving-school costs. But so far, no female Uber drivers have taken to the road. Ms. Farhat said challenging social stigma and helping women with their commute are themain reasons she chose to be a Careemdriver, despite her full-time job as a quality-management consultant and family commitments. She saw Careem’s advert within an hour of the driving decree’s announcement last year. The ad called uponwomen to “take the lead,” that it was “their turn now.” With the summer being a slow season, Ms. Farhat is dedicating the


AUGUST 2018


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