{"id":3862,"date":"2011-02-13T19:45:02","date_gmt":"2011-02-13T15:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/?p=3862"},"modified":"2011-02-15T13:38:41","modified_gmt":"2011-02-15T09:38:41","slug":"beautifully-courageous-fezs-first-female-taxi-driver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/middle-east-society\/beautifully-courageous-fezs-first-female-taxi-driver\/","title":{"rendered":"Courageous: Fez’s First Female Taxi Driver"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Fez resident Vanessa Bonnin<\/em> tracked down the intrepid taxi-driver, Lamiae El Oubeidi. This is Vanessa’s report…<\/p>\n

Lamiae is a formidable woman. In the face of opposition from her family, her husband, the government and society, she held firm to her ideals and in doing so broke new ground for women in Morocco. How did she do this? By becoming the first female taxi driver in Fez and the second woman to drive a cab in Morocco.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to be the first woman in the history of Fez to take this job, so that people would be aware of how important it is for women to take such challenges,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be an example to other women, so we can [eventually] see women driving taxis, buses or even working in construction.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 36-year-old mother of two, Lamiae has diplomas in science, IT and accounting, but when she lost her teaching job she needed to find work to help support her children. She chose driving a taxi because she wanted to be in control of her working hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis job allows me to manage my time around all my different commitments and helps me make sure I spend enough time with my kids,\u201d she said. Her husband was already a taxi driver and she firstly had to convince him that she should contribute to the family income in the same way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took me time to change his way of thinking, I\u2019ve been pretty diplomatic explaining to him that his income isn\u2019t enough, we have kids and expenses\u2026so I eventually managed to convince him,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut other men tell my husband \u201cYou\u2019re not a man! You let your wife go out and do such a job?<\/p>\n

“This is difficult for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second difficulty was her parents. Born to a well-bred, conservative, Fassi family Lamiae had a hard time persuading them that she would not be in danger as a female taxi driver.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family worried a lot\u2026but I trust in God, I don\u2019t think that any harm can happen to me because\u2026I always read the Quran and pray before I go out for work\u2026and this is the greatest protection for me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never faced any problems, also because I make sure to choose the right passengers, I pick up women or couples and I make sure not to go to dangerous areas\u2026so I feel safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family was not supportive in the beginning – but they are proud of me now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her biggest hurdle however, was the local authorities. They refused to give her a permit to drive a taxi in Fez and only after she doggedly fought for eight years did they finally relent. Her first attempt was in 2000, but the government refused to give her the permit simply because she was a woman. She made significant efforts to \u201cclaim her right\u201d to be a female taxi driver and eventually, with persistence she managed to get behind the wheel in 2008.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy case was difficult because I was on my own, if there were at least ten of us we could have made a change more quickly,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was impossible [for the government] to imagine that a woman could drive a taxi, so the men didn\u2019t take me seriously, which is why it took eight years for me to be a taxi driver.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime another woman, Zakia Mezzourm – the subject of the documentary Taxi Casablanca \u2013 had begun driving a grand taxi in 2004. Lamaie did not know of her existence until recently but is proud that she is not alone in her efforts to change attitudes towards women in Morocco.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen should fight for their rights otherwise nothing changes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen have achieved a lot\u2026yet we have to stand up for our rights and take example from each other so things will be better. I want my daughter to be better than I am, and I wish the same for all Moroccan women.\u201d<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, the most negative reactions she gets when driving the taxi are from other women.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen do not encourage me as men do, many women don\u2019t like to take the taxi when they see me driving, but I guess this takes time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I assert myself in this job, people will get used to it and respect it. It was worse when I started, it was so difficult, everyone looked at me in a hostile way, but I managed to win over the appreciation and respect of other taxi drivers, and now they all see me a sister, because I\u2019m always there for them when they need help. However, women still don\u2019t encourage me but I can\u2019t let those comments bring me down.\u201d<\/p>\n

The initial reactions she had to fight from men were stereotypical, those that thought she should be at home and baking, not driving a taxi, those that said she was a bad driver and men who tried to compete with her on the road. Yet with patience and perseverance, she has been slowly winning their respect. However, her reaction is less sympathetic to men who complain that with current unemployment levels she should not be taking jobs from them.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wage is very basic because it\u2019s not my taxi, but women choose to work for basic salaries while men don\u2019t\u2026this is why unemployment seems to reflect more negatively on men,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, instead of complaining, men should take all sorts of [low-paying] jobs like women do \u2013 I would sell tissues by the side of the road to support my family. If I had the same attitude as men I would have never found a job, but I couldn\u2019t just do nothing and wait for a job with a good salary.\u201d<\/p>\n

As well as educating society by setting an example, Lamaie has also managed to educate her husband \u2013 who now shares domestic responsibilities at home while she works \u2013 and educate herself in mechanical matters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can fix all sorts of problems, I learned this through experience, I had to learn these things,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery woman who drives a car should have a basic knowledge of how to deal with mechanical problems. Now I always make sure that everything is alright with the car before I go out to work, so I avoid any breakdowns.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she was younger, Lamaie dreamed of becoming a pilot. It didn\u2019t happen for her but now she hopes that by setting an example she can help other women shoot for the sky.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to do something that would make me feel unique and I just thought \u2018why not?\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have the ability to face the way people look at me\u2026they don\u2019t like what I\u2019m doing, yet I wanted to challenge the way people see women. Doing this job I can control my time, spend time with my kids and be my own boss. Life is hard and once you have children you need to offer them a comfortable life and support them to make their dreams come true. I want to see women taking all possible jobs and encourage women to challenge themselves. That\u2019s what I\u2019m aiming to achieve, and that\u2019s why I took this job, to set an example to young women and show them that anything is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

With thanks to Robert Spencer Harrison for the photographs, and Maryam el Haytami for the translation.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VANESSA BONNIN, THE VIEW FROM FEZ: Lamiae took a different route, becoming the first woman in Fez, and the second in Morocco, to drive a taxi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":3869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,90,5],"tags":[1718,18334,4619,109],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3862"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}