Date: Friday, August 16, 2024
Author: Lisa Michelutto
Country: Italy
Photo credit: Pink Taxi Egypt Facebook Page: https://images.app.goo.gl/tG5q8ejAjXQCZ3ZG7
SUMMARY
Taking taxis nowadays poses safety risks due to unregulated drivers, poorly maintained vehicles, and insufficient background checks, leading to incidents of harassment and assault. In response, apps like Wasaleeny and PinkTaxi offer women-only cab services with female drivers, enhancing safety and providing jobs. Despite criticism for potentially promoting segregation, these services address immediate safety needs while broader societal changes are pursued.
BACKGROUND
Taking taxis nowadays can pose significant safety and security risks. Numerous reports and studies highlight concerns about unregulated drivers, poorly maintained vehicles, and the lack of stringent background checks, which can leave passengers vulnerable to various dangers. Incidents of harassment, assault, and overcharging are increasingly common, particularly in areas with lax regulatory oversight. Additionally, the rise of ride-sharing services has led to a competitive environment where traditional taxi companies might cut corners, further compromising passenger safety. This is indeed a growing problem in large cities, affecting women in particular. A service that should guarantee safety and professionalism often turns into discomfort and serious danger for those who use it.
New cab-booking apps have been invented in Egypt and all around the world. The app Wasaleeny (Safe Journey For Her), in fact, makes it possible to book safe cab rides for women and children. The special feature? It only allows women to drive cabs. It does not accept men. The idea came about in the wake of the death of a 24-year-old girl, Habiba Al-Shamaa, who died after trying to escape from a moving cab in Cairo, as she was being kidnapped by the driver. After this sad fact, the issue of cab safety became part of the Egyptian political debate.
PinkTaxi, another app with the same goal, was founded in 2015 by Reem Fawzi. Of course, it is fundamental to highlight that it is a safe service for both clients and drivers, because the creation of profiles on the app undergoes a process of precise and detailed checking before acceptance. The company offers training to women who want to become drivers, aimed at teaching them how to combat and respond to discrimination.
These cutting-edge apps also help by providing many jobs, which in these difficult times is not to be taken for granted. As PinkTaxi website affirms, since women-only cab services are often perceived as inadvertently upholding gender segregation, the service has faced criticism. This is generally true, rather than teaching women how to reserve their own all-female ride-sharing services, we as a community ought to teach men to refrain from harassing women. On the other hand, seizing the current chances to empower women seems like a really smart move in the short run. We can't wait for all of the social issues to resolve themselves, after all.
It is disappointing and frustrating to think that there is a need to take these precautions and create new methods for safe travel in 2024, yet this is the reality in every major city in the world.
REFERENCES
1. Meet Pinktaxi - a women-only taxi service operating in Egypt (n.d.). Onde App. https://onde.app/cases/pink-taxi-egypt
2. Ansa (2024, June 19). In Egitto arriva un servizio di autiste donne solo per le donne - Africa - Ansa.it. Agenzia ANSA. https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/mondo/africa/2024/06/19/in-egitto-arriva-un-servizio-di-autiste-donne-solo-per-le-donne_9cc611f5-f36b-48be-8dd8-5be48ee99159.html
3. About us – Wasaleeny. (n.d.). https://wasaleeny.app/en/about-us/
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