Russia lifts legal ban on female train drivers

Russia finally allows women to drive trains

after the country lifted a legal ban on jobs

that were previously deemed too hazardous

or too physically demanding for females

Location: Moscow, Russia

21-year-old Sofia Dorofeyeva

became one of the country's first female assistant train drivers

SOUNDBITE (Russian) ASSISTANT TRAIN DRIVER, SOFIA DOROFEYEVA , SAYING:"Well, of course, at first it was hard to believe because all of us girls who wanted to get this job had been waiting for this for a very long time, and then suddenly this news came out. At first, we did not believe it, but then, of course, we were happy and calm in some way, because instead of fighting, we could finally just take this position, once we passed all the exams.''

As of January 2021 women in Russia

are also allowed to become metro drivers and truck drivers

But many other professions still remain out of reach