Hamas bans Gaza women from learn driving with male teacher

Gaza driving school owner Adham Mushtaha had no choice but to employ two female teachers after the Hamas government imposed a new regulation that a male teacher cannot sit in a car with a female student alone.

Imposed last week, the rule said that a female student must have a companion in the car when learning driving from a male teacher. Otherwise, the teacher must be female.

Owners of the driving schools said police officers of the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza warned them that they have to abide by the order, otherwise, they will be held accountable.

Before this decision, women and men were alike in learning driving and getting a driving license.

Mushtaha told Xinhua that after he received the order, he decided to assign two female driving teachers at his school, only to teach female student who can't come to the school with a companion or a first-degree relative.

There are 56 driving schools for both men and women in the Gaza Strip, which has a population of 1.9 million. However, over the past two years, schools owners said the number of women asking for driving licenses increased to 20 percent...
 [Xinhua]
3/3/16