57-Year-Old Widowed Mom-Of-7, Zahida Kazmi Charts Her Own Course In A Male Dominated Society And This Is How

Zahida Kazmi is a 57-year-old widow and mom-of-7: 2 sons and 5 daughters. Kazmi who hails from Islamabad, Pakistan has been making a living as a taxi driver for many years. She single-handedly brought up her children after her first and second husbands passed away.

Instead of relying on relatives and other family members, Kazmi who was married at the age of 13, decided to take her own destiny in her hands. In 1992 at the age of 33, newly widowed Kazmi decided to become a taxi driver, The Express Tribune gathers.

Prior to that time, Kazmi had worked as a domestic helper and later, she took up a job at a cloth factory but the wages were too meagre for her to make ends meet, she shared.

“All doors [of opportunity] seemed closed but I didn’t lose heart because I had to feed my children and I wanted to educate them so they could become responsible citizens,” she adds.

In the late 1980s, Kazmi decided to shift to Rawalpindi. This is when she decided to get behind the wheel and steer her life back on course. Her late husband, who was himself a taxi driver, had taught her how to drive.

Born into a conservative and patriarchal Pakistani family, Kazmi who was hailed as Pakistan’s first female taxi driver, flew in the face of her family’s wishes and with seven children to support, she felt she had no better choice.

She took advantage of a government scheme in which anybody could buy a brand new taxi in affordable installments. She bought herself a yellow cab and would drive to Islamabad airport every morning to pick up passengers.

“I used to then pick my children up from school, come home, prepare lunch and after resting for a couple of hours, leave for work again,” she recalls.

Initially, people were unreceptive and questioned Kazmi about her choice of profession but the same people came around soon enough.

“Eventually, they started to notice my helplessness and opted to ride in my taxi. A woman driving a taxi was a strange phenomenon, but they (tribesmen) never criticised or harassed me.

Rather, they appreciated and encouraged me,” says Kazmi. “It is often said men don’t know how to respect women, but throughout my life, I have been accommodated by men,” she adds.

Kazmi describes her job as “an adventure in a male-dominated world”, but a necessity to feed herself and her children.

“In my country, there are lots of difficulties for women. It is easy for men. I started driving a taxi in 1992. When I first came to the airport as a taxi driver, the union of taxi drivers here told me I could not drive here because I am a woman. I told them I am a mother of 7 children and I’ll prove to them that I can drive.

I have only one wish, that God gives me enough life so that I can see my daughter become a doctor. There is one thing I’ve learnt. We make our own destinies. If I had sat at home, I would have had no future.”

In a perilous and unpredictable world, Kazmi at first kept a gun in the car for her own protection and she even started off by driving her passengers around wearing a burqa- a garment that covers the entire body.

Although Kazmi has been feted for being Pakistan’s first female taxi-driver, she still has many bitter memories of her struggles as a single mother working hard on the road.

Her own mother disapproved of her career choice and only resentfully accepted it when the media gave her positive coverage.

“I am old but my courage is young. I don’t want to be a burden on my children or anyone else,” she says. I am old now and I get tired.

It’s hard for me to drive all the time but what can I do? My sons don’t help,” she said. If I had a chance I would have become a doctor.”

Despite her travails, she is clearly a respected presence on the streets of Islamabad. Today, all her older children are married and she lives with her youngest daughter who is 13-years-old daughter. She continues to drive some 10 hours a day and earns about Rs1,000-1,500.

Kazmi also gives driving lessons to women in Rawalpindi, encouraging them to make a respectable living and face hardships head on. One can imagine her telling students that the road is long with many a winding turn, but no journey is too great.

Kazmi is truly a role model for all women who are out there trying to improve their financial/economic condition.

The story of Ms. Zahida Kazmi proves that a woman is capable of doing anything she sets her mind to regardless of how bad the situation might be or how discouraging the society might appear.

Photo credit: MUHAMMAD JAVAID