First Saudi Women Pilot ... Not Allowed to Drive!

First Saudi Woman Pilot…Not Allowed to Drive

Hanadi said she would return to the kingdom to fly commercial flights.
By Ayman Shawki, IOL Correspondent

AMMAN, July 17, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Hanadi Zakaria Al-Hindi can fly a plane, but she can not drive a car to the airport or anywhere else in her homeland of Saudi Arabia.

The hard-to-believe equation became a reality when Hanadi obtained her commercial pilot license from the Middle East Academy for Commercial Aviation in Jordan and was thus eligible to fly. But she will still be forced to be driven to the airport, instead of driving the car herself, as Saudi women can not drive cars, under Saudi laws.

“I feel proud for studying aviation in Jordan and I will now return to my country, armed with science and knowledge, to work as a plane pilot,” Hanadi told the Jordanian news agency (Petra) Wednesday, June 15, after her graduation ceremony.

The first Saudi woman pilot, who was born in Makkah, also expressed gratitude to Saudi billionaire Al-Waleed bin Talal, who paid for her studies and training course in Jordan. Capt. Hanadi, 27, has joined the Jordan’s Middle East Academy for Commercial Aviation in August 2002.

She got her first license to fly civil flights on September 7, 2003 after spending 103 flying hours. Hanadi said her chosen career could not have been possible without her father's support.

"My father wanted to become a pilot, but couldn't realize his dream," she said. "That is why he pushed me to study aviation and become a pilot."

"Pride for us"

Her graduation ceremony was attended by the Saudi Ambassador to Jordan and other officials of the Saudi diplomatic delegation. Saudi cultural attaché told Petra that Hanadi’s graduation as the first woman pilot is a pride for all Saudi people.

"Capt. Hanadi sets an example for Saudi women, who proved their efficiency in all economic, commercial and cultural posts they obtained," Sultan Al-Owaideh said. The head of the academy’s board, Mohammad Audeh, also said the graduation of the first Saudi woman pilot "was a source of pride for all of us".

Saudi women are not allowed to drive a car in the oil-rich kingdom following a controversial religious edict (fatwa) banning women from driving cars. But controversy has been fueling in Saudi Arabia over granting women the right to drive.

A recent call by a Saudi member of the unelected Consultative Council, Mohamed Al-Zulfa, to study the issue of women drivers was rejected by the council. Many Saudi intellectuals have been calling for granting Saudi women their rights guaranteed by the Islamic Shari'ah.

On June 14, Saudi Arabia's Third National Dialogue Forum called for drawing a line between traditions and the Islamic tenets regarding women’s rights. Breaking taboo and tumultuous women’s issues, the forum also concluded that a right balance should be struck between Shari'ah and everyday life in a way that does not contravene society ethics or Islam’s baselines.