Nissan Is Teaching Women in Saudi Arabia to Drive, With Unexpected Instructors

"I'll show him, I'll show him that a girl can set her mind to study hard and work and slave,
and when the time has come he'll find, I'll show him..." - Anne of Green Gables

Less than six months from now, in June 2018, women in Saudi Arabia will be legally entitled to drive. Before that improved level of gender balance takes effect, however, women who are going to drive must first learn to drive.

It can be an intimidating prospect. Surrounded by millions of experienced male drivers in a male-centric society, the regulatory change alone won't bring any great measure of comfort to women who are about to dive headlong into a public setting where there's no guarantee of acceptance. More likely, there's a measure of certainty that there won't be any real acceptance of female drivers, even inside their own families.

This is where Nissan steps in. "The #SheDrives campaign aims to motivate women all over Saudi Arabia with a clear message: When the time comes, the decision to drive will be entirely yours," says Nissan Saudi Arabia COO Bader Al Houssami.