REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MAZAR-I-SHARIF -- Convinced that women can take part in the rebuilding of a war-torn country, a lady in this northern Afghan city has chosen a career to help women promote their rights.
"We must fight for our rights. I am proud to be the first female taxi driver in Afghanistan," Sara Bahayi, 40, told Xinhua in a recent interview.
In some Afghan tribal villages, females, especially young girls, are required to stay at home and are banned from attending school, which is a tradition inherited from the Taliban's reign.
Afghanistan, according to women's rights activists, is a challenging country for women to live in. Women are regarded as inferior to men and often suffer horrific abuse simply because of their sex.
"At first my family was against my idea of driving a taxi. They told me it is an occupation which is dominated by men. You know, when drove a taxi two years ago, other taxi drivers were trying to bother me. They were trying to obstruct my vehicle. However, nowadays they have changed their ideas," Bahayi said.
"There has been huge discrimination against women in the past. Women could not enjoy the basic rights laid down by Afghan laws. But the situation has improved in recent years. Today, female students are learning in schools and universities alongside men," she said.
"For years, the government and the international human rights agencies said they are working to ensure women rights are upheld, but we believe they were only promises," Bahayi said, adding, "I am aiming to encourage other women to take active roles in their communities."
Speaking of her career, Bahayi said unhesitatingly, "I have started this movement and I call on other Afghan women to continue it. My dream is to see more women drivers in big cities which will be a sign of improved women's rights," she said.
"My passengers are largely women. They prefer to get in my taxi because they feel safe. Some male taxi drivers still lack respect and understanding of their female passengers," added Bahayi.
"When my passengers are men, I try to chat and talk to them about women's rights," she said.
With confidence in her eyes, Bahayi said she will try to spread her driving knowledge among the Afghan women. She also calls on families and parents in this war-ravaged country to support their daughters to study and work outside.
Most Afghan women are suffering from poverty and still subject to violence and abuse, a situation that is ironic since some Afghan women have now become legislators and officials.
However, some women in Mazar-e-Sharif are now working in government offices, construction companies, and some are even engaged in their own small business.
"The hardline Taliban regime had confined women to their houses and outlawed schooling for girls. In today's Afghanistan, women are active in political, economic and social activities. There are four women in the Afghan Cabinet and several women in parliament," she said.
"However, I think more work is still needed for women's rights to be promoted," the pioneering Bahayi concluded.
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