DHAKA, 22 February 2006 — Hundreds of curious onlookers yesterday thronged at a railway station in southern Bangladesh as the country’s first woman train driver took full charge of her locomotive, officials said.
Salma Khatoon ran for the first time a local train with 150 passengers aboard from Laksham station to Noakhali town more than 25 km away, setting a new record for a Bangladeshi woman in the country.
Salma, 23, was appointed by the state-run Bangladesh Railways as a trainee driver more than a year ago. After several test runs she was formally handed over the keys yesterday.
“To get the job of a train driver has been a childhood dream,” Salma told the crowd before she hooted away to the next station where other curious groups awaited her.
Hard-liners have criticized Salma’s appointment, calling it a move to defy Islamic injunctions on women.
But women rights groups have welcomed Salma’s job, hoping it would encourage other young women to follow in her footsteps, despite opposition from religious extremists.
