Saudi Arabia's first female pilot to finish training in mid-2005

Ms. Hanadi Hindi is a Saudi woman, and like all women in Saudi Arabia, she cannot drive to work. She also has to wear a veil, cannot travel alone and cannot socialize with men other than family. In March, we reported that she had a dream, and that her father was trying to find the way to make it come true.

Now there's one thing she can do. She will soon be able to zoom past all the men on the road in her country, and make history when she completes her flight training and becomes the country's first female pilot.

Prince al-Walid bin Talal, nephew of King Fahd, runs a private airline and has signed a contract with Ms. Hindi for her new job.

But it does not stop there. The Prince, known for his reformist attitude, paid for Ms. Hindi's pilot training in Jordan, from which she is expected to graduate next year. Back in March, this was the one thing stopping her from achieving her dream.

"Women are very capable of taking on any job previously monopolised by men", Ms Hindi said in a statement to the BBC. She is also grateful for the support he father has given her, without which it would have been impossible to go where she is headed. "Women have more chance to work and to do different kinds of work", she said in an interview, in which she also encouraged other Saudi women to achieve their dreams.

In a statement to the press, Prince Walid described the job offer as "a historic move for Saudi ladies - who were previously confined to working in the health, education and philanthropic sectors. I am in full support of Saudi ladies working in all fields." 

Prince Walid is well-known in the US for his attempt to donate $10 million to a fund to benefit victims of 9/11. He was rebuffed by former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, allegedly because Giuliani was upset at the Prince for criticizing US foreign policy.

FMI: www.meib.org/articles/0209_med1.htm