She drives calmly, always aware of the rules of the road, respecting the law above all. Moreover, the other male drivers usually give her the priority, happy to extend the “ladies first” mentality to the polluted and chaotic intersections of Casablanca.“It's an exhausting profession for women,” said one young man who climbed into Sebsab's back seat. And he is right. All day on the polluted streets, the dirty , noisy air whipping past her face as she drives , the conditions are sometimes unbearable. It is particularly stressful during the rush hour when the other drivers on the road become aggressive, trying to get home in time for dinner. And then, she is constantly in contact with the public.  It is inevitable that sometimes her passengers are rude, or worse. Certainly, she takes some risks. So why does she do it?

For the last five years Zakia has made her place in the world of men as the only female driver of the big white taxi. Born in Fez in 1946 to a conservative family where her father was an Imam and her mother a house wife, Zakia was the youngest of 10 brothers and sisters and grew up doted upon and spoiled. “With a childhood like that, I gained a strong desire for freedom,” she said. “God and the Koran say that women can work as they want,” said Mezzour who prefers to drive only in the “safe” neighborhoods between Maarif, the city centre and sometimes Hay Hassani and Derb Ghalef. She has a cute photograph of a gray fluffy cat pasted onto the dashboard and a Koranic prayer swaying from the rear-view mirror. “To drive a taxi is not at all against Islam.” 

"My passion is to drive,” agrees Sebsab, who is a widow and never had children. “When I drive, I forget my problems. I just work, I return home, I wash, do my daily prayers and then I relax. It is a simple life and I am content.” She works seven days a week between eight and ten hours a day to support herself and her handicapped brother who lives with her. 

Creating a woman's plac e in a man's pr of es s ion has not always been easy . “In the beginning,” insists Mezzour, “I was often confronted with the arrogance of the male taxi drivers who did not accept that a woman could drive. They told me a woman's place is in the kitchen. “I was forced to file complaints with the police to show up the ignorance of these men and make it clear they would have to change their behaviour toward women who have just as much right to drive as they have.”When asked how long both women plan to continue their profession, the response is clear: “Ever y one must earn her own living, I don't have a choic e.”

See original post here: Taxi Driver En Escarpins - Le Journal Hebodmadaire