Despite social pressures, Yemenis take over the wheel

Yemenis are used to chaos in Sanaa's crowded streets. Cars have long been queued up, competing with the ever-increasing number of taxis.

In the midst of this bottleneck, traffic police stopped drivers, demanded verification of driving licenses, and demanded payment of fines as congestion increased and car horns sounded frustrating.

However, a new scene has begun to spread more and more in recent years: the presence of women behind the wheel across Sana'a and other cities, despite the harassment of pedestrians, motorcyclists and fellow drivers.

Since the 2011 revolution, Yemenis have been able to openly challenge family and community restrictions and criticism to gain greater mobility and autonomy despite social pressures.

New independence
Six months ago, Abeer Buraidah, 25, used to use public transport to reach meetings with her graphic design clients.

But they faced many obstacles, including sexual harassment and theft, as well as the many wasted hours due to slow mobility.

"Last year, a cyclist stole my suitcase and couldn't defend myself because I was walking down the street. I used to face a lot of sexual harassment on public transport," she told MEE.

For her, cars are "a safer way for women to move. Although all women may face some form of harassment, women who drive are less likely to face them, where they can close their windows and ignore any bad words or negative behavior."

She believes that as more women enter the labor market or start up their businesses in Yemen, their need for mobility increases, stressing that women are eager to lead.

Abeer bought a car six months ago and asked her friend to teach her to drive. She says she can now move more easily to serve customers in Sanaa.

Kawthar al-Dabhani, 35, has been driving for more than a decade, but that was not easy for her. "Before 2011, it was very difficult to drive, as men and women used to have a discussion with women drivers," she said.

Nowadays, there are many women who drive cars, so it has become easier. Women are beginning to defend their freedom and rights, and leadership is a fundamental right that should be enjoyed by all women.

Tradition is stronger than the law
Although Yemeni law has never prevented women from obtaining a driver's license and driving, social norms have long been the main obstacle to the large number of women sitting behind the wheel, according to social expert Professor Taiz Fadl Mohammed.

"In a conservative society like Yemen, social traditions are stronger than laws, so only a few women were driving when society used to strongly criticize them," he told Middle East Eye.

While society's attitude toward women driving cars has become less rigid over time, other than some dissenting opinions.

"Some people are not educated enough, so sometimes we hear some bad words, and some bad people try to harass us on the streets, but we ignore this behavior," says Kawther.

Abeer feels fortunate to have family members on her side, who have supported her efforts to achieve independence. At the same time, she said she faced criticism from relatives, but did not give in to their pressure.

"Some of my family encouraged me to lead and others criticized me. I tried to convince those who opposed it, but they didn't understand me, so I ignored them."

Unexpected privileges
Abeer and Kawthar believe there are unexpected benefits as they are the few women who drive cars, including that traffic police are less likely to check them than male drivers.

"Many women do not know the road laws, but traffic officers cooperate with women and do not stop them to check for driving licenses," Abeer said.

Abeer once collided with a motorcycle by mistake, but a pedestrian stood with her against the cyclist, however, the motorcycle driver gave her father's data to communicate with him in case he needed treatment.

Kawthar added that since taking command 11 years ago, she has not been stopped by police or army officers at checkpoints.

Road policeman Amin Ebadi, 39, said he had noticed an increase in the number of female drivers over the past three years, not only during the day but also at night.

"Rarely stop women out of respect for social norms," ​​he said. "Stopping a woman to check her driver's license would be shameful. We are cooperating with them and we hope that the newcomers will go to driving schools."

Abadi supports the idea of ​​more women behind the wheel. "Women are more self-reliant in driving than waiting for a man to take them to their place of work or others," he says.

Mohammed, a teacher at Taiz University, says there is a clear link between the 2011 revolution and the increasing presence of women in daily life, even when political and humanitarian conditions in the country became more terrible after years of war.

"The 2011 revolution helped women defend their rights. We have seen thousands of them taking to the streets to demand their rights, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman," he said. ".