More women drive cars
Translation from tajik-tajik blog.
The number of women who drive cars in Tajikistan is constantly increasing and according to statistics it already constitutes 30% of all drivers. It is not unusual to see a woman driving car in Europe but in Tajikistan it is an unusual phenomenon. In past it was considered that driving cars was a job of men and women were not that much interested in driving. Today the situation is different.
Indira is a teenager who is related to a generation of “new” Tajiks. Since childhood she was dreaming of driving cars and now she has driver’s license. In her opinion to have a car in own property is more a necessity than a luxury. “Car makes things easier for people, as of me wherever I go I always use my own car”, says Indira.
Experts say that the main reason for increase in number of women driving cars is a change of women’s role in society. More and more women are involved in social processes. Thus use of personal cars is becoming a vital necessity.
Yusuf Gadoev from department of state road inspection says that it is important to teach women how to drive. “When woman has a car, she does have to ask anyone for help if there is a problem at home, for example, she can go to see a doctor on her own”, says Gadoev.
In Gadoev’s opinion, women unlike men are more careful on roads. They always try to observe road laws. The number of violations of road laws committed by women is very low.
The only problem on roads that women have to overcome with help of men is when cars break. They have to wait for a gentleman to fix their cars.
on June 14th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Interesting analysis Vadim,
It is indeed puzzling why Iran has intensified it’s ties with Tajikistan. Among some folks in Tajikistan there is a hope that someday Iran+Afghanistan+Tajikistan (+Samarkand and Bukhoro Regions of Uzbekistan) will form some kind of persian-speaking confederation. Something akeen to EU.
Could these relationship-building initiatives be a part of that grander scheme? All of these countries (+regions of Samarkand and Bukhoro) share deep historical and cultural roots, which could in reality serve as a good foundation for such a union.
Although there are a lot of similarities in terms of culture and language, there are a lot more gaps in mentalities between these three countries.
For one thing Tajiks (compared to Afghans and Iranians) are far more liberal and less oppressive. Plus majority of Tajiks do not see the union having anything more than a cultural/lingual link unless Afghanistan and Iran change (evolve to be more liberal).
Overall, Iran seems to be run by a bunch of clerics whose actions do not follow any logic. In light of that, it is hard to see how Tajikistan could save them from economic/political sanctions.
In any case the investments are good and I am glad someone is committed to re-build Tajikistan.