Women taxi drivers in Amman met with support, disdain

AMMAN – As Nadia Salem drives her taxi on the streets of the capital, many drivers find it a strange sight.

The looks of surprise from other drivers and passers-by have not embarrassed Salem, saying that she is determined to work hard to succeed in this new career.

“My colleagues and I are always subjected to some comments by male taxi drivers mocking our job. I don’t care because I believe that the idea will be successful in the future,” she told The Jordan Times while driving to a mall in Amman. 

Salem is among 10 other female drivers who have been recently appointed by Noor Jordan for Transport — Taxi Moumayaz as part of an initiative to include women in the transport sector. 

“I like driving, and when I found the vacancy announcement published by the company on Facebook, I decided to apply, and they later accepted me. I used to work at an office, so I wanted to have a new experience — to work on the street and see how it feels,” she added.  

The company’s chairman, Eid Abu Al Haj, said the female drivers will be using hybrid vehicles.  

“Many women want to help their husbands meet the needs of their families, and this is a decent job,” he told The Jordan Times in a recent interview. 

Abu Al Haj said the company pays the expenses of the public transport licence, which is required for any person who wishes to work as a driver.

“We also provide them with courses on how to deal with their customers. The driver is paid a monthly salary, and we provide them with social security and medical insurance,” he added.   

The female drivers do not drive around the city looking for customers. They receive the order through the company’s call centre, or customers approach them at specific parking spots allocated for the company outside some of the capital’s malls, Abu Al Haj said. 

The drivers do not work for late hours in order to respect social norms, he added.

Salem said many of her customers have received the idea of a female driver positively, taking her phone number should they need a lift.

Sabreen Shoroufi, a mother of seven, said she wanted to work because this is a service many other women are comfortable with. 

“I did not find any challenge in this profession because it is similar to any other profession and my family has supported me,” she told The Jordan Times.   

Yola Marcel, who was outside a mall chatting with one of the drivers, said she liked the idea because “this is a scene you rarely see in either Jordan or in the Arab world and it is good for the comfort of girls.,” 

But several male taxi drivers are not comfortable with the project, and are doubtful that the new drivers will be successful in this kind of job. 

Khader Abu Anas said this is not a good idea because taxis “in our culture are only associated with men”.

“Many of my customers told me that they are scared to get in a cab with a woman because they are not good drivers,” he claimed.