man is one who refuses
to place barriers in front
of women and how they
live. It starts with how
mothers nurture their sons
and teach them to behave.
The idea of masculinity
is missing tolerance,
acceptance and feminism.There must have been
some challenging
moments in
establishing
Arabian Gazelles.
My first media appearance
was an eye-opener.
I was preparing for my
interview on set when
a man, who was also
there for an interview,
introduced himself as
a psychologist. ‘When
a woman is passionate
about sports like supercar
driving that’s usually
a sign she’s having maritalproblems,’ he commented.
To which I replied, ‘If I was
a guy, would you say the
same thing? Would you
think I have problems with
my marriage because of
my passion for supercar
driving?’ At that moment,
I realised it wasn’t going to
be easy.Was your family
supportive of
your passion for
supercars? Was
it something you
grew up with?
My dad was very
supportive. I wanted to be
a pilot, just like him, and
the closest I could get to
doing that was to drive
a car. He’d return home
after a long flight and take
me to empty carparks to
teach me how to drive.
Back then, my mother
would go crazy, as I was
only 12 years old. But my
dad would insist,‘If she
wants to drive, I’ll teach
her how to.’The Gazelles are
the first female-
only superclub to
be registered in the
Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia (KSA). Tell
us more about it.
The club is registered and
is opening in Saudi soon.
It’s too early to release the
club and start celebrating
yet – that’s the next step.What do you
think about the
car industry
in the region?
I don’t think enough
women are involved in
it. I want more women to
own car-manufacturing
businesses; I want
sponsors to see the valuein our club and invest in
it; and I want business
owners to listen to what
women have to say.What’s next for
Arabian Gazelles?
I want to connect women
all over the world who are
passionate about supercar
driving. I receive a lot of
requests from women
around the world who
want to become members
of the club. I’ve been asked
to form an international
membership by creating
Gazelles around the
world – Gazelles South
Africa, Gazelles USA, and
so on. We, the Gazelles,
want to be connected, and
eventually, change the
landscape of our hobby.What do you think
of millennial-era
feminism?
In my opinion, the media
has portrayed a rigid
version of what feminism
is. Most of this generation
is saying, ‘That’s not for
me. I don’t believe in
feminism, but I do
support its policies such
as equal opportunity.’What do you think
Arab societies need
most at the moment?
Tolerance. And more
Arab role models, in all
walks of life.How do you imagine
the future for women
in the region?
All that I’ve done for the
Gazelles so far is because
of women. As more Arab
women break down gender
barriers, they’ll set an
example to other women –
and they will be inspired to
imagine what’s possible.‘Truth is,
we women
can drive
and we can
compete
and we do
have the
same
passion’
gq.co.za September 2019 / 79