Think outside the box. This is how Tunisian Khadija Al-Jalouli challenged motor disability!

"Despite everyone enlisting to help me, I felt deep down that I was a burden on them, because I considered that it would require effort and time from their day," Khadija Al-Jalouli told DW Arabia as she described her feelings about her mother and brother devoting their time to transporting her daily to her place of study.

But from the womb of suffering, the idea was born, and here Khadija says firmly, “I decided to rely on myself and search for a solution that would enable me to move around independently and without assistance.” How was Khadija’s journey to reach this goal?

Necessity is the mother of invention

Khadija completed her university studies in 2015, majoring in food industries, but she did not find a job opportunity that matched her background, so she was initially forced to work in another field far from her specialty. During the initial professional interviews with the owners of the establishments, she felt a reluctance to hire her once they learned that she had a disability.

Laws related to employment in Tunisia require establishments with 100 or more workers to employ no less than 2% of their workforce, and to employ at least one worker if the number of workers ranges between 50 and 99 workers.

However, Khadija says that institutions were often not open to these laws in employment processes, and that infrastructure and public transportation do not help people with disabilities to take risks and take private initiative.

Between what the law guarantees and what people with disabilities experience in their daily lives, a clear gap emerges.

The infrastructure in many places does not take into account the privacy of wheelchair users: unprepared sidewalks, the absence of ramps and elevators, and difficult-to-access entrances, as well as limited appropriate equipment in some transport stations, buses and metro cars. The result is that a right guaranteed on paper may, in reality, turn into a journey full of obstacles, making moving independently a daily challenge.

However, Khadija sought to think outside the box. Instead of looking for a job, she thought about creating her own project, starting in 2016.

According to what she told DW Arabia, Khadija Jalouli first began searching for solutions to the mobility problem she was experiencing herself, as she uses a wheelchair and does not have a driver’s license. After communicating with owners of similar projects, she wondered: Why don't I build the car myself? The idea was presented to people with disabilities, and they welcomed it.

Khadija's plan was to avoid the mistakes of previous projects that tried to solve this dilemma by developing the uses of regular cars to make them suitable for people with disabilities, which always led to clear shortcomings and shortcomings due to the different needs among those who suffer from mobility difficulties.

Therefore, Khadija wanted to design a car that would be directed from the beginning to the wheelchair user, so that it would allow him to remain in his chair and provide him with ease of movement, vision and driving.

The criticism and looks of skeptics were not enough to dissuade her from the experiment. Khadija tells her idea to DW Arabia, "I was not afraid of failure. I was accustomed to facing criticism. If I had paid attention to it, I would have stayed at home."

What was on Khadija’s mind was a challenge for thousands of people with limited mobility in her situation, which is what made the project receive an unexpected response from its beginnings and represent a long-awaited solution.

Official figures already reflect the scale of the need for such solutions. According to the 2024 general population census, about 375,000 people live in Tunisia with severe disabilities, or 3.3 percent of those aged five years and over, while the percentage of those who face difficulties in walking to varying degrees is 6.4 percent, according to the National Institute of Statistics.

A special cart for each customer

In 2018, Khadija founded her own company and called it “Hawkar”, a name derived from the name of the falcon in English. It carries a symbolism that refers to freedom and independence, which are the two values ​​that Khadija seeks to give to people with mobility disabilities through her car, according to the company’s official website.

Khadija is careful when introducing her car as a different project, as it is not a regular car or a four-wheeler, but rather resembles golf carts to some extent.

From the back, the design of the Hawkar stroller reveals the idea on which it was based: there is no need to leave the wheelchair to enter the stroller. There is a wide rear door that allows the chair to be inserted directly, before it is installed in a designated place in front of the dashboard, and then the driver fastens his seat belt. As for the control tools, they can be adapted to the needs of each user differently from others. The acceleration and brake pedals can be installed on the right or left, and the location of the steering wheel can be changed.

The vehicle features a windshield that covers a large area to allow the driver a clearer view of the road. The dashboard displays basic data, including battery charge level and speed, and also checks safety conditions, such as closing the door tightly and keeping the seat stable, before allowing the vehicle to move.

"Hawkar" is charged from a home electrical socket, and its design allows for the possibility of parking horizontally to facilitate landing directly on the sidewalk, in addition to the traditional parking method. The work does not stop at the current design, as the team is currently developing the first level of driver assistance systems, while work is underway on a second level in cooperation with the project partners.

The project is supported by the German International Cooperation Agency, the French company specializing in electronic solutions for the transport and energy sectors, the International Center for the Advancement of Persons with Disabilities, and the Tunisian Agricultural Cooperative Insurance Fund.

Local and international recognition

Khadija succeeded in obtaining a driver's license and displayed the first version of her vehicle in front of the eyes and lenses of photographers, journalists, activists, representatives of companies and associations, and some people with limited mobility, during the month of last September, in the Technology Pole in Ghazala, near the capital.

Before that, early recognition came from abroad, as Khadija won the Social Impact Award from Austria in October 2017 and the World Energy Globe Award, which is awarded to sustainable and environmentally friendly projects in 2021.

In June 2024, Khadija stood as a youth representative at the seventeenth session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the United Nations headquarters in New York, to present her experience. She said at the time that mobility is not just a means of transportation, but rather “a gateway to independence, dignity, and social participation.” She called for redoubling international efforts to integrate persons with disabilities and involve them in decisions related to finding solutions to the challenges they face.

In 2026, Khadija's name was also included in the list of "Notable Feminist Voices in Business."

What happens after the test?

Today the vehicle is still in the testing and experimentation phase. Khadija says that the company will soon present a test drive for the general public during the months of November and December to try it out and provide feedback.

Khadija looks further, as she informed DW Arabia of her desire to export the vehicle to African countries, especially those that adopt the smart city system, where the elderly and those with limited mobility need this type of vehicle.

The company's products are not limited to the stroller, as its team is working on developing a second product, which are wheels inspired by electric bicycle wheels, which have been adapted to be installed directly on the wheelchair, giving the user greater mobility and independence. Khadija concludes her speech with a tone that sums up her ambition and determination: “We aspire to be the pioneers of electric mobility for people with disabilities.”