Pioneering women pilot, bus driver, car mechanic, and gas station owner

A 2009 survey of the Central Administration of Statistics indicated that 77.2% of women against 27.2% of men of working age claim to be not economically active or are not workers or looking for a job. In a male and chauvinist society, and on the occasion of Mothers’ Day, “As Safir” chose to highlight the profile of a number of Lebanese women who were successful in professions traditionally associated with men. Shafiqa Al Haj, a mother of 3 children, is one of them. With the help of her spouse and a bank loan agreed in her own name, she opened a gas station. Given the small size of the loan, Shafiqa had to fully run the station, and forced to do all jobs herself, including filling gas for customers, washing cars, audit and management of staff. Another outstanding lady, Rola Hoteyt, is presently the only woman pilot in Lebanon who believes that a strong personality is necessary for achieving ones dreams and for women to stand up against challenges facing them in life. Zeina Maaluf is a driver of a 50-passenger school bus, who loves her life-fulfilling job because it makes her a responsible and productive person, as she said. However, she traced the reason for her current work occupation to unhelpful circumstances which forced her to drop out from school at an early age. Samira Masri, for her part, is the owner of a car mechanic repair shop in the southern suburb of Beirut. She has steadfastly been working with her husband in a tiring profession that has given her appreciation and recognition as is evident by the long list of customers she cultivated during many years of work. (As Safir, 21 March 2015)