When Afghan taxi driver Sara Bahai has male passengers in her cab, she takes the chance to lobby them on female rights — and she hopes the country’s next president will also listen to her.
Bahai has been driving the streets of Mazar-i-Sharif city for 10 years, during which Afghanistan has experienced huge changes, including limited improvements in the lives of many women after the harsh years of Taliban rule.
Now, ahead of the Saturday’s run-off election, she says the new president must push ahead with reforms in the face of opposition from Islamists who seek to reverse gains as the US-led intervention winds down this year.
“Sometimes I argue with male passengers all the journey to convince them a woman driving a taxi isn’t a bad or un-Islamic thing,” Bahai, who is thought to have been Afghanistan’s first-ever female taxi driver, told AFP.
“I have many expectations for the next government. They must pay serious attention to women.
We invite our users to read the full article published June 10 2014
When Afghan taxi driver Sara Bahai has male passengers in her cab, she takes the chance to lobby them on female rights — and she hopes the country’s next president will also listen to her.
Bahai has been driving the streets of Mazar-i-Sharif city for 10 years, during which Afghanistan has experienced huge changes, including limited improvements in the lives of many women after the harsh years of Taliban rule.
Now, ahead of the Saturday’s run-off election, she says the new president must push ahead with reforms in the face of opposition from Islamists who seek to reverse gains as the US-led intervention winds down this year.
“Sometimes I argue with male passengers all the journey to convince them a woman driving a taxi isn’t a bad or un-Islamic thing,” Bahai, who is thought to have been Afghanistan’s first-ever female taxi driver, told AFP.
“I have many expectations for the next government. They must pay serious attention to women.
We invite our users to read the full article published June 10 2014
