Why do cab drivers boss around women customers?

As far as the employment market is concerned, there are two parties: the employer and the employee. There is a general perception in society about both groups, as well as about their rights, duties and responsibilities. An individual or legal entity that hires another individual to do a specific work for a wage or salary is the employer, while the individual who was hired to do the job is the employee. However, this concept has undergone substantial change — at least in the case of Saudi women who hire taxicabs for trips between their homes and workplaces or educational institutions. Even though these drivers are in the position of an employee, most of them have virtually turned into bosses who are tough in their decisions, strict in their schedules, rude in their behavior, and not at all showing any leniency in their attitudes. These drivers are used to inflict any sorts of harassment and punishment on women customers that are hesitant to obey their commands. There could be variations in the mode of their punishment, but one thing is common among them: their impudent behavior. Some of them only resort to issuing threats, while others actually put these threats into practice. Yet some others exploit the situation of their clients to achieve their goal of extorting more money. There are drivers who forcibly kick out their clients in the midst of the journey if the latter refused to pay more, whereas others attempt to exploit the state of seclusion in the vehicle by teasing or sexually harassing them. Speaking to Arab News, a number of Saudi women, including employees and university students, shared their bitter experiences with taxi drivers. Nada Saad, a student at King Abdulaziz University, had several such experiences. She hired a number of chauffeurs, one after another, to take her to university and back home. Most often, they charged exorbitant prices and used threatening rhetoric whenever she delayed them for a short while. On some occasions, they left the spot without taking her when she came a few minutes late. Wud Khaled, who is working for a big company, shared a similar experience. Khaled starts work at 8 a.m., while her husband, who is a teacher, has to leave home by 6:30 a.m. “It is impossible for me to go to office early, nor is it possible for him to wait for me. This situation forced me to hire a taxicab for transportation from home to my workplace and back,” she said, adding that she encountered many problems with several drivers. Khaled noted that some of these drivers had rude manners and exploited her situation to levy a higher fare. Most of them came late to pick her up, and their regular excuse was that they had to transport other customers. A group of six girls who are studying at King Abdulaziz University told Arab News that their daily trips to university and back home had become a permanent headache for them. Earlier, they traveled by the university bus, but they were fed up with the long hours wasted daily on the bus, which covers a long distance and frequently stops to pick up and drop students in front of their houses. Therefore, they arranged taxicabs. Maha, one of the students, said, “One day I was 15 minutes delayed due to an important exam. I was shocked when I did not see the taxi driver to take me home. When I contacted him on the phone, I heard a terrifying outburst of anger from the receiving end.” Maha recalled that the driver told her that he was not her employee to wait for such a long time. He then abruptly ended the call. His angry outburst dumbfounded her. She had to spend nearly three hours in front of the university gate waiting for someone to pick her up, while her mind was preoccupied with the question whether she was paying him money to transport her or he was paying her. “I remain extremely patient when I encounter such situations and rude behavior from taxi drivers who behave with Saudi women as if they were masters and we were their maids,” Maha said. Sudaim Faisal, another student in the group of six, said that she had to face several embarrassing situations at the hand of cab drivers. She cited two examples in particular that forced her to take the drastic decision not to make travel arrangements anymore with taxi drivers. “First, one of the drivers once stopped the car in the midst of the journey and asked me to get out of it. This happened after I had refused his demand for a SR100 increase in the monthly fare.” His justification was that he was charging the same amount levied by private taxis. Faisal decided to stop the contract with him when he commented that there were other customers who were ready to give double the amount she was paying. The second factor that forced her to take the decision of “no more taxicabs,” Faisal said, was even more significant. “One driver always used to praise my beauty while I was alone in the cabin. He said that I was the most beautiful among the young women he took to university. Many times, I warned him not to speak in this manner and even warned him that I will inform my parents in case he repeated it, but he ignored my remarks and continued business as usual,” she said. Faisal described the day when the anti-climax of the entire episode came: “One day, while I was alone in the cabin on a trip home, he turned the car to a new street claiming that this was the shortest route to my home. But I suspected some foul play and screamed out to force him to take the regular route. However, he stopped the car in the midst of the road and said that he loved me and did not want to hurt me but only marry me,” she related. However, Faisal managed the situation by forcing him to take her home. “During the trip, I sent an SMS to my brother explaining what had happened. When the car reached my house, my brothers were awaiting the driver. They beat him up and threatened to report him to the authorities.”