On June 24, when Saudi women are allowed to drive for the first time, Amira Abdulgader wants to be sitting at the wheel, the one in control, giving a ride to her mother beside her.
"Sitting behind the wheel (means) that you are the one controlling the trip," said the architect, dressed in a black veil, who has just finished learning to drive. "I would like to control every single detail of my trip. I will be the one to decide when to go, what to do and when I will come back."
Abdulgader is one of about 200 women at the state oil firm Aramco taking advantage of a company offer to teach female employees and their families at its driving academy in Dhahran to support the social revolution sweeping the kingdom.