Getting a cab may not be an issue for a lot of people all around the world: You raise your hand, call a taxi, It stops, you get in, say the destination, lean back and rest till you arrive.
Living in Tehran, the idea of going around in a taxi is absolutely different! There are certain routes inside of cities, covered by "linear cabs" meaning taxis are used as kind of a semi-public transportation system. Each taxi moves five passengers, including the driver. Therefore three people sit packed and uneasy at the back, to reach the destination.
That's where the problem starts: Three people sit next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip. Now this may not look a problem yet. Wait! You need to have lived in a more restricted society to understand how men are allowed to be abusive towards women. They are allowed to touch you, and on your complaint, tell you that you're not covering your body enough! This is how the society brings them up, how the law supports them.
Ah, I get on taxis everyday, pondering all day how the man leaned on me or put his hand on my thighs, or how he kept pushing his leg towards mine. It kills you a little bit every day that you didn't say anything. You just sat there, with your teeth crunched and your fist hard, keeping the look to avoid a fight in which you're always the looser.
Getting a cab is an issue in Tehran.
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