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Taliban directive: Women belong in a taxi’s trunk, not its passenger seats
Sana Atef* and Mahtab Safi* authored this report for the Zan Times in Persian, and it was translated into English by Rustam Seerat.
It was on the third day of her daughter’s visit that Mahgul*, 54, realized they needed to take her to the hospital, as her stomach ache was worsening. So Mahgul, who lives in the Damaan district of Kandahar, set out with her daughter, Rana, and her 4-year-old grandson. It was a hot 15-minute walk to the taxi station.
Once there, they couldn’t find a taxi driver willing to take them to the hospital. Finally, one said he’d take them but they had to ride in his vehicle’s trunk. Mahgul, her daughter, and her grandson climbed on board and sat next to a 10-kilogram gas cylinder. A few minutes later, the driver stopped to pick up three more women, who also crammed into the small space, with the weight of the trunk’s hood resting on their backs. “We struggled to breathe, our clothes, even my burqa, were soaked in sweat from the intense heat. My daughter clung to the gas cylinder, groaning in pain,” Mahgul recounts to Zan Times.
After 90 minutes, they reached the hospital. While Rana was treated, Mahgul realized she was having a skin reaction as well as heat…
