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Taxi drivers' widows can now earn their livelihood

This initiative is regarded as the first of its kind in the UAE.

The FCS has recently delivered new taxis to four widows for which they can pay in instalments. Seven widows were earlier given taxis by FCS.

FCS Assistant Manager General Ahmed Saeed said the women picked by the society for such assistance should meet requirements set by the society — being a widow, having no breadwinner and lacking any other source of income.

''Only one woman has been exempted from these criteria whose husband is an old man and lives on social assistance,'' he noted.

"Those female cab drivers will be the owner of the taxis. They are given a grace period of three months after which each female cab-driver has to pay Dh500 a month towards the value of the car until she pays the full amount," he explained.

He affirmed that the innovative project is of great importance as it helps poor families make a living.

Female taxi drivers Raisa and Ghnema said: ''We offer our service to families and female teachers as well as other gentle sex categories."

"We have our own business cards which we distributed to the members of the public who call us in need."

Saeed Al Raghabani, Special Advisor to the Fujairah Ruler and Board Chairman of the FCS, said, "The female taxi project is part of a wider drive for development and rehabilitation of families under the sponsorship of the FCS."

According to him, the project has evoked overwhelming interest from low-income families in Fujairah and the Eastern Region.

"The current fleet consists of 11 taxis providing source of income to 11 families of around 120 members... we plan to expand the project to benefit more poor families," he said.

Colonel Mohammed Ahmed Ghanem, Director-General of Fujairah Police, said the police had welcomed the idea when the FCS approached them to process driving licence for female applicants.

He explained that national women drivers underwent training on how taxi services were functioning and plying on Fujairah roads and then subjected to a programme of technical support on traffic culture.

Commenting on the initiative, Saif Al Ater, FCS Director, said the departure was a little bit difficult given the fact that the project is the first of its kind in the country.

''Widows have feared that they could not afford to pay the monthly instalments apart from the reluctance of the society to accept such a new idea... thank God, the experiment has been successful."

"We hope to increase the number of cars to attract more widows," he added.

• UAE