Saudi Gazette report

AL-AHSA — Aqeelah, a Saudi woman, feels comfortable behind the wheel at a dates’ factory in Al-Ahsa in the Eastern Province. She drives a material handling heavy equipment to load and unload cartons of dates as well as transport them from sorting division to the packaging section and then to warehouses.

Aqeelah enjoys doing the work. “I do this work daily as it gives me much enjoyment. This profession requires focus and speed in completing tasks, so that the rest of the work team can accomplish handling the largest number of cartons of dates,” she said.

Aqeelah has set an exemplary example that Saudi women can master even in tough jobs. “I never expected that I could master driving this heavy vehicle as it has become an essential component in the first dates’ factory, fully managed by women in the region. We have been given the opportunity to prove our skills and that enabled us to acquire proficiency in the field of dates,” she added.

Factory manager Abdul Hameed Al-Haleeb attributed many factors to the total reliance on women workforce to run the factory. “The most notable reasons are their promptness in work, as well as their patience as cleaning of dates would take much time, and their keenness is significant in making the final product the finest one.

In the past, our mothers worked to take care of the local production of farms, most notably dates,” he said.

Al-Haleeb pinned great hope on the productivity of women staff. “I aspire to further improve the performance of female employees so that they become the best example of Saudi working women. Our products are exported to all countries of the world in the finest manner,” he added.