Sanaa: Yemenis look at the damage after an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition on Thursday.—AFP
Sanaa: Yemenis look at the damage after an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition on Thursday.—AFP

SANAA: Dressed in a baggy jumpsuit and a grey paisley veil, 24-year-old Dalia al Moqadam is an understated pioneer in Yemen -- a rare female mechanic in a conservative Middle Eastern country at war.

This week in the rebel-controlled capital Sanaa, Moqadam’s cavernous garage — full of gleaming cars — was a refuge from the three-year conflict that has claimed thousands of lives.

For this young Yemeni woman, the biggest worry when starting out was that society, not the violence, would make it hard for her to take on the challenge and follow her passion.

“The difficulties that I faced in the beginning were first of all the field itself — it’s cumbersome. Then there was a fear of how society would view a woman working in this field — would they accept it?” Moqadam recalled.

“And what if society doesn’t accept the idea? Would I be able to work in the field that I love?” She said that her family and fellow mechanical engineering students at Sanaa University, from which she graduated in 2017, fully supported her entrance into the field.

“But others reject the idea because they don’t have an accurate idea of what mechanics do,” Moqadam said.

“They think it’s all strenuous body work, and that it’s not a suitable field for girls. The society just finds the concept very weird,” she added, standing in front of a Porsche Cayenne.

Yemen, an impoverished Muslim-majority country on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula, came bottom in the rankings of the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report released in November.

The Geneva-based organisation’s report, which tracks disparities in education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment, placed Yemen below other conservative Middle East states such as Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Yet no one bats an eye as Moqadam shuffles around the workplace, her navy and tan jumpsuit customised with a skirt instead of pants, international car logos and the garage name Natco embroidered across her back. She checks an oil leak, swiping brown liquid with a bare finger, then dons thick mechanic gloves to work under the hood.

‘Not exclusive to men’

At the auto shop, located in the upscale southern district of Hadda, clients consult with the young woman about their vehicles.

“Honestly, I was taken aback by Dalia — by her expertise and professionalism in this mechanical work. Despite her age and gender, she’s taken on this tough occupation,” customer Emad al-Azzab said. “She proved that this job is not exclusive to men,” he added, smiling.

Wearing a smart suit and a pressed shirt, the general manager of the repair centre, Majid Othman, said Moqadam had brought new ideas to the workplace.

“We admire Dalia’s creativity with mechanics,” Othman said. He said that while it was new for “a conservative society” like in Yemen to have a woman doing the job of a mechanic, it was a good thing, especially for female drivers.

“There are a lot of women driving now in the capital, and so it could be really positive for the maintenance sector to have women available. The female clients may feel more comfortable dealing with another woman than a man,” he said.

Moqadam said it is just “a matter of time” before society gets used to the idea of seeing a woman working under the hood. “I was the only girl in my class,” she said.

After graduating in 2017, Moqadam took on various traineeships at automotive centres, but a full-time job is more elusive.

The devastating war and a Saudi-led blockade aimed at weakening the Huthi rebels and restoring the government to power has decimated the economy.

Moqadam, who describes mechanics as “awesome”, still has an uphill battle when it comes to securing her role in an all-male field.

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2018

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.