Kuwait Cabs for Women Paint the Town Pink

By Sumayyah Meehan

January 20, 2010

The landscape of Kuwait is set to turn just a little bit pink in the coming weeks thanks to an influx of perky pink taxicabs geared towards the female population of Kuwait. The pink cabs are for females and driven by females, which will totally empower young girls to get their driver’s licenses and desperate housewives seeking to break away from their homes for a few hours.

For women in Kuwait, travel has always been a problem. Female drivers driving alone or with friends are often followed by guys hassling them for their phone numbers, with even motorcyclists driving right up to female driven cars and knocking on windows right in the middle of the road. And as for the male-driven taxi counterparts, a spate of taxi drivers kidnapping female cab fares and selling them to brothels has made hiring a taxi a most dangerous endeavor.

Hopes are high that the pink taxis will help women in Kuwait travel easier and with more freedom of movement. The pink taxicabs are a model solution for women who often hesitate to travel alone, without a male relative. Nicknamed ‘Eve Taxi’, the pink taxicabs are the brainchild of clever Kuwaiti businesswoman Bedoor Al-Mutairi. Al-Mutairi has added just a bit of luxury to her cabs ensuring that they are stocked with the latest fashion magazines as well as other accessories like extra large pullout mirrors so that female fares can touch up their lip gloss en route to their final destination.

The taxis will run from 8am to 8pm, which is a bit restrictive given that city life in Kuwait does down well after midnight. Female fares may just end up stranded should they miss getting picked up once the pink cabbies punch out for the night, kind of like Cinderella after the ball! However, despite the time restrictions Al-Mutairi insists that her female taxicab drivers will be the most capable on the roadways of Kuwait, nipping any Arabic lady driver jokes in the bud before they can start.

Skeptics have already hit the Kuwaiti blogs in a flurry of cynicism over the impending pink fleet set to roll out on the streets of Kuwait. Some say that the pink taxis go against everything feminists have been fighting for in the Middle East, which are equal rights. Some say that the pink taxicabs are just a clever marketing tool to exploit the fears of women and rake in some cold hard cash. And some see the pink cabs as a disaster waiting to happen given the chase that some men put on when pursuing women on the streets of Kuwait, with one Kuwait blogger noting, “Since the taxis are bright pink and for ladies only, it should make life a lot easier for the guys who cruise on the Gulf Road. It’s like waving a red cape in front of a bull.”

The future looks bright for this new pink adventure whose anthem just might end up being Aretha Franklin’s song ‘Pink Cadillac’, albeit for a less pricey Nissan taxicab.

Source: Kuwait Times