Mekhri feels “a sense of freedom and self-confidence” when she’s behind the wheel of a car — despite being forced to drive illegally because of an unwritten rule in Turkmenistan preventing women getting a licence.
In the reclusive Central Asian state where she lives, young women are effectively banned from driving.
“I know the rules of the road. I drive calmly, don’t overtake anyone and know how to park,” the 19-year-old said.
Like other women interviewed by AFP in Turkmenistan — ranked by rights groups as one of the most closed and repressive countries in the world — she withheld her surname.
There is no legislation specifically outlawing women under 30 from obtaining a driving licence.
But it is one of many informal prohibitions that is universally followed, so women that do drive must do so without a permit, which is illegal.
“When my daughter wanted to enrol at the driving school, we were told that she could take lessons but that she would probably not pass the test,” said Guzel, Mekhri’s 57-year-old mother.
So instead of paying for lessons, Guzel assumed the role of instructor and now takes Mekhri outside the capital Ashgabat to practice.
“Where there are few cars, police officers and cameras, I let my daughter take the wheel and I teach her,” Guzel, who started driving when she was 40, told AFP.
