Aston Martin, Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche. Dozens of supercars and their drivers gathered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The drivers and owners compared experiences, told stories, and laughed together. They were engineers, entrepreneurs, and housewives. They were also women—members of the region’s first all-female supercar owners club.
The Arabian Gazelles, as the group is known, met in Dubai to take part in a four-day car rally. In motorsports, rallies involve driving over a specified distance with stages and time schedules. This inaugural Gazelles rally saw the women rev their high-performance engines from desert to mountain to coast across the varied terrain of the UAE.
Hanan Mazouzi Sobati formed the elite group eight years ago. Her passion for cars goes back to her childhood. While other kids watched cartoons, she watched Formula 1.
That enthusiasm for supercars is now the driving force behind something even bigger: changing people’s attitudes and perceptions about women and supercars. Mazouzi Sobati wants to give women a seat at the supercar table.
“We do not need permission to drive or to choose what kind of cars to drive. We do not need permission to have this passion,” Mazouzi Sobati says.
She saw how mainly men were invited to car experiences and automotive events. When she first set up Arabian Gazelles, she says she was the only woman in attendance at such events. Even then, she went in place of her husband. He was the one getting invitations—even though he’s not a supercar enthusiast.
“Women were overlooked in this automotive scene,” Mazouzi Sobati says. She said she knew someone needed “to drive the change.”
When she started the club, she says brands wouldn’t support an all-women car club.
The Arabian Gazelles have come a long way. And Mazouzi Sobati is seeing perceptions change . . . slowly.
One evidence of change was clear at May’s Arabian Gazelle rally: BMW invited the women to test cars on its tracks.
“We do not wait for a seat at the table. If the seat is not available, we create the table and we all sit,” says Mazouzi Sobati.
Why? Finding ways to be inclusive rather than exclusive often starts with a single individual who is willing to take first steps.
