{"id":33156,"date":"2019-03-01T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures?p=33156&preview=true&preview_id=33156"},"modified":"2025-02-26T02:51:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T15:51:41","slug":"first-female-driver-east-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/first-female-driver-east-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Becky, East Africa’s first female overland driver"},"content":{"rendered":"

To locals, she\u2019s known as \u2018Mama Overland\u2019, but her real name is Becky Kieha. For the last six years, Becky\u2019s day job has been to sit behind the wheel of a custom-built overland safari truck, driving the dusty back highways of East Africa, from the Masai Mara<\/a> to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In fact, Becky\u2019s a little special: she\u2019s the first female overland truck driver in East Africa. Ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cI longed to be a truck driver since I was a young girl,\u201d Becky says. \u201cMy dad was a truck driver. Now I love my job. I drive travellers and my guests to national parks to see the wildlife.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Becky

‘Nakoudini amini’ is believe in yourself.<\/p><\/div>\n

The locals know her as Mama Overland. She pulls the truck over and turns to the small group in the back seats. \u201cOkay my guests! In front of us we have a group of rhinos.\u201d The crew immediately flocks to the port side of the bus, cameras out. The rhinos chew grass in long lazy circles, unimpressed.<\/p>\n

To really understand Becky\u2019s story, you need to know a little about working conditions in East Africa, especially for women. The latest estimates from the World Economic Forum\u2019s 2018 Global Gender Gap index<\/a> think it\u2019ll take 135 years to close the gender pay gap in sub-Saharan Africa (North Africa is even bleaker, with projections currently siting at 153 years). The small percentage of women that do<\/em> find employment usually work in agriculture<\/a>, often as self-employed labourers or family workers, two forms of vulnerable employment. Female farmers produce over 80 per cent of all the food grown in Africa, but still have very few land rights or positions of influence in the industry.<\/p>\n

Becky is one of the women fighting to change these statistics, but she says it hasn\u2019t been easy.<\/p>\n

\"Becky

“I longed to be a truck driver since I was a young girl.”<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI have been driving trucks for Intrepid for six years. At first men used to give me a hard time. I used to be very bullied. Every place we go to, the men would react. Sometimes they scream, \u2018Becky, you\u2019re not supposed to be driving a truck! Can\u2019t you go back and do something better, take care of your family?\u2019 Anything to make me feel like I\u2019m not supposed to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

This discrimination is, sadly, nothing new, but Becky says she\u2019s learned to cope better. And conditions are improving. As more East African women enter male-dominated workplaces, the associated stigma is beginning to break down. Countries like Burundi and Rwanda are beginning to lead the way, having closed more than 80 per cent of their participation and opportunity gender gaps. Dinah Musindarwezo, the executive director of African Women\u2019s Development and Communication Network, has even floated the idea of copying Iceland and legislating to ban compensation disparities based on gender.<\/p>\n

RELATED: HOW A DISCARDED BICYCLE CHANGED A COMMUNITY IN NAMIBIA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Zebras

A real life zebra crossing in the Masai Mara.<\/p><\/div>\n

For countries like Uganda<\/a> and Ethiopia<\/a>, as well as\u00a0Kenya<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Tanzania<\/a>\u00a0(where Becky drives)\u00a0that reality is still a way off, but Intrepid\u2019s East Africa overland truck Workshop Manager, George Njau, says that women like Becky are inspiring a new generation of African women.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecky is very famous,\u201d he says. \u201cThe police know her, even the border patrols \u2013 they see her and they\u2019re like \u201cBring it!\u201d. She\u2019s part of our family and we\u2019re really proud of her. My daughter, she loves Becky so much because she is driving trucks. She calls her Aunty Becky. She says, \u2018One day I\u2019d like to drive like Aunty Becky.\u2019 I say you can drive if you want to, just have the courage, determination, and you\u2019ll make it through. She has made a lot of companies think about employing female drivers now. We\u2019re looking forward to having a second lady driver, all because of Becky. She encourages a lot of women now. A lot of women are looking to get into driving.\u201d<\/p>\n

EXPLORE OUR RANGE OF EXPEDITIONS HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Becky

Women like Becky are inspiring a new generation of African women.<\/p><\/div>\n

The attitudes of men in the region is changing as well. Male drivers and Becky’s workshop colleagues are much more positive about sharing the road with women, and she’s finally getting the moral support she deserves.<\/p>\n

Intrepid\u2019s African Overland<\/a> team are already looking to hire their second female driver. In fact, we\u2019re working hard around the world to improve the gender split<\/a> among our leaders and support staff, starting with countries like India and Turkey, where female employment in tourism has traditionally been quite low.<\/p>\n

\"Becky

“Becky has made a lot of companies think about employing female drivers now.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

Becky switches off the engine, and the big truck purrs and clicks as it winds down in the African shade. Outside there\u2019s a marmalade sunset, and the cool evening breezes are already beginning to roll over the Mara. Becky knows every inch of this machine. Intrepid drivers aren\u2019t just drivers: they\u2019re mechanics, tyre changers, cleaners and service repair experts. If this truck breaks down in the middle of Serengeti National Park, Becky is expected to hop down and fix it, just like any of the guys on the team. She says it\u2019s all part of the job.<\/p>\n

SUBSCRIBE TO INTREPID\u2019S NEWSLETTER FOR TRAVEL TIPS, COMPETITIONS, GIVEAWAYS & MORE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n