Hanadi Zakaria al-Hindi هنادي زكريا الهندي | |
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Born | September 1978 (age 45) |
Occupation | Aviator |
Hanadi Zakaria al-Hindi ( Arabic: هنادي زكريا الهندي) is the first Saudi woman to become a pilot.
She was born in Mecca in September 1978. She passed her final exams at the Middle East Academy for Commercial Aviation in Amman, Jordan on 15 June 2005. [1] She has a ten-year contract with Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Company [2] [3] as a pilot of his private jet, the Kingdom.
Al-Waleed, who is considered a proponent for female emancipation in the Saudi world, financed her training [1] and stated on her graduation that he is "in full support of Saudi ladies working in all fields". [2] Al-Hindi became certified to fly within Saudi Arabia in 2014. [4]
Reports highlighted the irony that a Saudi woman is allowed to pilot an aeroplane but may not drive a car (although this has changed in 2017 [5]). [2] [3] Al-Hindi, however, does not see this as a contradiction. [2]