Behind the wheel of her car, the Lebanese taxi driver, Najah, spends her long day carrying passengers. For years, the 59-year-old woman has been moving between the streets of Beirut in a profession that she chose and that would not compromise her femininity.
The success of male and female passengers is reduced to their universities and businesses, challenging people, society and life conditions. “I drive the car daily, so why not use it to live, work is not a defect nor does it harm the family.”
Najah decided to leave her diplomas aside to support herself in a time of few. “I studied life sciences at the Lebanese University, but my special circumstances prevented me from practicing the teaching profession,” she told Sky News Arabia.
The woman suffered all her life from the repercussions of polio, which she contracted at an early age, forcing her to choose a profession that suits her health condition.
Her mother’s illness forced her to stay by her side without going to her work center for years following she was working in translating and preparing scientific and educational reports from French into Arabic for the children of the Islamic Orphanage in Beirut.
Najah struggles to live following the death of her parents, and refuses to give in to unemployment, and she has established her own economic system, with her feminist laws, and her regulations related to the right of women to be a taxi driver in the streets of Beirut to secure the requirements of life.
The success of working as a taxi driver, which some consider to be the preserve of men, began since 2009, coming from another profession that is also classified for males, which is the repair of electrical tools.
Inside Najah’s car, she meets a woman who is looking for both economic and social security, and her right to do a job she loves.
She tells her story to “Sky News Arabia”, without leaving a smile on her face. She sees that “the woman is the master of the fields, and she has all the qualifications for work, even if it is in the taxi profession.”
She refused the success of acquiescing to her reality, and she did not give all the critical looks, but managed, and within a short period of time, to gain the confidence of the girls and their families among the passengers. No one can forget regarding the kidnappings, harassment and other incidents.”
She is one of dozens of women who broke the tradition and entered the world of male professions. Najah preferred to be a taxi driver rather than extend her hand to ask for help.
Najah believes in livelihood and adds to Sky News Arabia, “After a wild war between me and some men who were taxi drivers, I drew the attention of women who wanted to deal with me, especially on long walks outside the capital.”
Najah complains regarding the diaries of a taxi driver in a time of crisis and says, “Before the 2019 movement, I worked through private companies that provided me with tourists. Unfortunately, conditions have changed and the passenger no longer needs me or anyone else, following he started walking because of the high price of gasoline and the taxi fare that arrived.” to 50 thousand pounds, following it was 2000 pounds.”
At seven in the evening, she finishes the success of her work to return home, and does not go out except in emergency cases. The success of a professional driver who challenges her circumstances and society in order to live in dignity without forgetting to take care of her femininity, and is keen to be a beautiful, educated woman, and concludes “Bit is an important number in the taxi world in Beirut.” “.
