After struggling to get hired at driving schools because of her religious garb, Maha Al-Shaibani decided it was time to take the wheel herself.
For more than five years, Al-Shaibani — who is Muslim and wears a niqab, a veil that covers the entire face except for the eyes — has been running The Queen of Sheba, a women-only driver training service in Ottawa.
She launched the business in 2012 after a friend suggested she branch out on her own, following a string of rejections.
“On the phone, they said, ‘Yes! We need a female instructor,’” Al-Shaibani told CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning. “When I go to meet them, and [have] the interview, they see my outfit, they see my face cover — they refused [to hire me].”