Yola, the bold woman taxi driver in Beirut

In its edition of last April 28, L’Orient Le Jour published an interesting interview with the 45-year-old taxi driver, Yola, who boasts her job despite the dominating male mentality that is often associated with it and thus restricting it to men. Yola began driving a cab four months ago and “I feel free with this job,” she tells the newspaper reporter. “Being a woman or a man, one has to make a living to survive,” Yola went on to say, noting that she makes only US Dollars 20 in one night. On choosing taxi driving, Yola explains that she never before had thought of working until after her husband died 4 years back. “It is up to me to care for my children now.” Yola has worked in selling ornaments at the bustling popular Souk Al Ahad  market on Corniche al Nahr east of Beirut, but says she prefers her new job that has no strict working hours. Working throughout the night is better for her, Yola reveals, as she pledges to take any other decent occupation to sustain her kids. (The Daily Star, April 28, 2016)