CAIRO — The French RATP Group, which manages, operates and maintains the Cairo Metro Line 3, the main line serving Greater Cairo, has recently conducted training courses for a number of women to drive trains. This step is a precedent on the path to empowering women in Egypt and integrating them in various sectors, through jobs that not long ago were strictly reserved for men.

Although the Cairo Metro is the oldest metro line in Africa and the Arab world — as it opened for the first time in the late 1980s — no woman has ever driven a train there. In Egypt’s patriarchal society, appointing women in this type of job is tantamount to rebellion against several social restrictions.

The passengers of Line 3, the newest line of the metro network, are now seeing women sitting in the driver's cabin and completely controlling the train. This was unexpected even by the most optimistic about the future of working women in Egypt and the Middle East. 

A source in RATP told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “The company announced its need for female train drivers. This was the first time the company made such recruitment announcements for women in Egypt. Among the 30 female candidates who passed the exams, two women were appointed — Hind Omar and Suzan Muhammad.”