CAIRO - Egypt's first women-only taxi service will be officially started in the coastal cities shortly, the Local Development Minister, Mohamed Attia, said. Minister Attia said that a private company would be assigned to implement this important project, which will offer female-only clients a reliable taxi services. Few years ago, the Cairo Underground Authority adopted women-only cars during the day rush hours so that women can ride with a sense of security The designated boarding metro cars are marked with the "Women only" signs indicating that they are only usded by women from dawn to 9:00 p.m. A women's rights activist has chided Minister Attia for delaying the taxi project for exclusively serving the fairer sex, saying that the new service will further protect women. "The project means more protection and security for women," Raniya Mohamed Megahid said, adding that she approves the project, which proved to be a success in a number of Arab countries such as Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Lebanon. Raniya argued that a female taxi service provides safe transport for women, who may have concerns about using traditional private hire or taxi services. She said that female taxi services are operated by female drivers, who have a policy of carrying female passengers only. However, male cab drivers in Cairo have reacted negatively to Minister's Attia's statement that the women-only taxi service will be officially launched soon. “Driving a taxi is one of the most dangerous jobs and it is not fit or suitable for women”, Ahmed Ibrahim, Cairo cab driver, said. "It is a dangerous job for women especially if they work at night because they deal with all kinds of customers and drive to remote areas," Ahmed said. Galal Metwalli, another taxi driver, shares Ahmed's view. "Out of all professions that require people to work alone, female taxi drivers are the most at risk as far as violence is concerned. Often, male customers play a role in triggering this violence," Metwalli said, asking why do women want to make a mistake and work as taxi drivers. Unlike male drivers, female taxi drivers do not know Cairo streets very well, Metwalli said. Although female cab drivers will treat all customers with respect, driving a taxi needs a lot of patience and courage, cab driver Wael Ahmed said, warning that the women drivers could be at higher risk than men for experiencing violence on the job. Samia Ashour, a Government employee, said that she believed the women-only taxi service would offer a form of protection for women, who face sexual harassment on public transport. Hosni Ayyoub, a cab driver, said that every day many taxi crimes are reported in Cairo alone after the January 25 revolution. "But, I believe the number of these crimes will increase, if women became taxi drivers too," Ayyoub said. Ayyoub said that he personally thinks that women should not work as taxi drivers because of the difficulties they would encounter every day. "It is very dangerous, especially for women, to drive a taxi at night or take the customers to a remote area in the city," he said. "There should be no female taxi drivers in any case," he said, adding that there is no doubt that this particular job is religiously impermissible." He urged the traffic police to refuse to give women taxi driving licences because it is unacceptable that women would work in this risky occupation. . Ihab el-Hakim, a Cairo University student, said that it is not advisable to have a woman taxi driver in Egypt these days, when crime rates are high due to present political conditions. Breaking into a male-dominated job like being a cab driver needs to be appropriate with the street and the fact remains that most Egyptians would prefer a man doing this job, el-Hakim said. However, the project, introduced in 2009, has triggered controversy among women. While, some women welcome the 'female taxis' as a harassment-free mode of transport, others say it fuels discrimination against women and perpetuates their status as second-class citizens. Rasha Madbouli, a university student, said that she welcomed the project because it would offer a form of protection for women who face sexual harassment on public transport. "This project is the best way to protect women against harassment. I hope that it will be implemented soon because it provides safety and security for Egyptian women," Rasha said.
