I love this story - a great example of simple, effective photo-journalism. It tells of 10 women in Dakar, Senegal who recently set up their own taxi company, 'Taxi Sisters'. They are the first female taxi drivers in the city and have chosen to distinguish themselves further by using brand new vehicles (most taxis in Dakar are, they say, frequently both dirty and dangerous). They seem to be enjoying real success and are already making expansion plans. The Taxi Sisters are aiming for a much larger fleet - and it should be said that they have nothing against male taxi drivers, and are in fact planning to establish another company, 'Taxi Blue', using a similar business model but with only male drivers!
It's a great example of women breaking through in a traditionally very male dominated society. The Taxi Sisters have taken loans to purchase their new cars, which they are paying back so as to ensure ownership in 5 years' time, and they aim to put their profits in building society accounts. (Financial services are pretty inaccessible in most developing countries, so examples like this are massively encouraging.) I, for one, have my fingers crossed for them - and if I ever travel to Dakar, I know how I'll get around.
(Photo: BBC World Service online)
Friday, November 23, 2007
Day Forty-Three: the taxi sisters
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3 comments:
Such moves towards gender equality are to be welcomed, not least because Muslim countries are notorious for their attitude to women drivers. In Saudi, women are not allowed to drive at all – but that is not the greatest of their problems there. In comparison, government initiatives in Senegal are very progressive, even if they have some way to go to change a culture that looks back to less enlightened times.
There seems to be some resentment from the regular taxi drivers that positive discrimination allows the Sisters to get the prime customers from the best ranks by the posh hotel. As with all such initiatives, a balance needs to be struck between helping those who have been discriminated against whilst not creating a new group who feel discriminated against.
This one leaves a real warm glow inside! People with not much opportunity in their lives making a real go of it, in a way which helps a neglected group of customers and wider society, looking after people they displaced from the market (male drivers), and opening up a locked industry to new thinking and clean cars which probably have lower emissions because they're new! It has everything! Ahhh!
Thanks, James and Diana, for your comments. James, I wonder if the hotels' preferences have more to do with the fact that the Taxi Sisters use smart, new cars - i.e. safer and more comfortable for the hotel guests - rather than because the drivers are women...?
Also, I rather liked the fact that the women were thinking of starting up a company with similarly new cars but driven by men. Perhaps they'll get to sit right in front of the hotels too? Then we'll have a better sense of exactly the type of 'positive discrimination' the hotels are operating!
E
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