CAIRO — Ayah Azeb, a 26-year-old graduate of the Faculty of Commerce at Cairo University, is among several women to become employed Aug. 11 by the Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt (FIBE) in Egypt.

FIBE announced July 31 that it will start appointing women to all of its branches for the first time since the bank was established in 1979 as the first Islamic bank in Egypt by the late Mohammed bin Faisal al-Saud, son of the late Saudi King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.

Azeb applied for a job at the bank after five years of working in different fields. She told Al-Monitor about the difficulties she faced in getting a job in the banking sector over the past five years. “I received a ‘Very Good’ assessment at the accounting department of the Faculty of Commerce where I studied. And I have received several training courses from various centers to further develop my skills. I applied to several banks but was never accepted, as banks tend to prefer males and believe they are more reliable and patient than females,” Azeb said.

During the interview at FIBE, Azeb said the questions were not gender discriminatory but rather were focused on her field of expertise.