Women empowerment was celebrated as 400 women participated in the biggest ever all-female car parade in the Middle East held on October 19, as one of the highlights of the Yalla Banat (Come On Girls) 2018 event, held at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC). Registered drivers and visitors arrived from all over the region to participate in the event with the theme ‘Driving Your Destiny’.
Yalla Banat, which was showcased on the NASDAQ Times Square Billboard, began with a televised Round table discussion panel comprising of 10 panelists who discussed two topics – “Women winning in sports” & “Women working in workplace”. The first-ever female motor show was in focus as Aseel Al Hamad—the first female member of the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation (which is part of the International Automobile Federation) participated in it.
Beyond celebrating the legality of women driving in the region, the event aimed to encourage and inspire women to be drivers in “their own road to success.” The parade included nine INFINITI Bahrain cars, participating as the exclusive automotive sponsor of Yalla Banat.
Personal stories and insights were shared by global inspirational speakers and achievers such as Mariam Turki, Finance Compliance Specialist at NBB, Michele Carlsson, the Head of Business Development Middle East and Africa at Nasdaq, Hadyah Fathallah, Executive Director of C5 Accelerator, Genevieve Gordan, CEO of Tactic Connect Ltd, Iman Mutlaq, CEO of INGOT Group and recipient of the Forbes Award for the Most Influential Women in the Middle East, Martine Kindt, CEO of Bell Racing Helmets & Kappa Consults, and Amna Al Qubaisi, the first Emirati female race car driver.
Ride Nation launched at Yalla Banat brought together Bahraini athletes and cyclists who cycled for the special launch of Ride Nation which is a boutique multi-sensory indoor cycling studio to be introduced in Bahrain in 2019.
