TAIF, 20 October 2007 — Across the Kingdom, women traveling in taxis without their husbands or male relatives are exposed to dangers and often harassed by drivers. Al-Watan newspaper interviewed a number of women in Taif to assess the problem.

“Taxis are very important to me. My husband is always out. I often need to do the shopping for home and so I end up relying on taxis. Moreover, my daughter’s wedding was close and we are doing a lot of shopping these days. The amount of money we spend on hiring taxis is more than what we spend on paying electricity and telephone bills,” said Fatima, a housewife.

“Once I was doing shopping with my daughter and we bought some gold. I left three sets of gold jewelry in the taxi and realized I had forgotten them only when I reached home. I called the police but it was useless. I couldn’t remember any details about the taxi except that the driver was a Saudi,” she Fatima, highlighting the difficulties she faces when using taxis.

Aisha, another housewife, said, “My child had fever and his temperature rose to around 41 degrees Celsius. My husband was drunk and I had to go to the hospital myself late in the night. I caught a taxi. On the way back, the taxi driver tried to molest me.”

She added, “I was so scared. I just asked him to drop me on the road. I walked the remaining distance. I cried as I had to carry my child all the way home.”

Hawraa, another housewife, said, “I wish we could drive and be self-dependent and not be at the mercy of our brothers or sons. A taxi driver once sexually harassed me, when I was out doing shopping. He tried to drive me to a different location to what I had specified but I realized what he was doing and stopped him. I’m glad God saved me from that person.”

Taxi drivers are also known to harass women passengers by flirting with them, playing loud music and smoking. Reem and Sawsan, students at Taif University, said some taxi drivers use the front mirror to look at women passengers and try to attract their attention by playing with their hair and singing.

Sawsan said she finds it strange that taxi drivers do not use counters. “They take the advantage of our need for a taxi and ask for lots of money,” she added.

Reem said, “I wish women would be allowed to drive in the Kingdom. This is better than being harassed by taxi drivers.”

Meanwhile, some taxi drivers also complained about the behavior of young female passengers.

“Some girls behave badly like putting on extra makeup and laughing out aloud. Others flirt with drivers to avoid paying fees and then hand them wrong phone numbers,” said Hasan, a taxi driver.

Omar Al-Husaini, head of Taif’s Ministry of Transport, said, “The ministry is only responsible for giving licenses. We have nothing to do with regard to the problems that happen between drivers and passengers.”