Have you been to Pakistan lately? If so, you might have heard rumours of a fleet of Pink Taxi’s donning the streets.
Pink Taxi is a taxi service launching in Karachi, Pakistan on March 30th. The service aims to protect women from harassment by offering women only drivers to women only passengers. The easily identifiable taxi can be hailed in person, by text or via an app.
The ingenious idea was the product of Ambreen Sheikh and her husband Zahid Sheikh. Abreen said, “Our pilots (drivers) wear a pink scarf and black coat as their uniform. They include housewives, young women and students.”
A report from the Karachi Urban Resource Centre revealed that most women faced some form of harassment on public transport. As more and more Pakistani women enter the work force, it’s becoming more and more urgent for them to have a safe means of transportation to get in and around the bustling city.
Regarding female only transportation, Transport Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said, “Having a mode of public transport catering to them alone can solve many of their transport issues.”
