RAWALPINDI, Pakistan //Zahida Kazmi became a cab driver to support her four daughters and two sons after her husband died.
Despite vehement opposition from her family, the then 33-year-old widow became the first and, so far, the only known woman taxi driver in Pakistan.
"I feel proud of what I am doing," she said while sitting in the balcony of her house in a crowded market area in Rawalpindi.
Now 54, Ms Kazmi has emerged as a source of inspiration for underprivileged women who have very few career opportunities in Pakistan. According to the United Nations just 15 per cent of Pakistan's workforce are women.
Television networks air an advertisement from a commercial bank showing Ms Kazmi driving her yellow cab to encourage woman to work. But for Pakistan's only female taxi driver, the road to making herself a career wasn't easy.
Attired in blue and white shalwar kameez - the traditional baggy trouser and flowing shirt - with head covered with a white scarf, she vividly narrated experiences of her life.
After the death of her husband in 1981, Ms Kazmi started working as a house maid in Karachi.
"I was very charming and pretty," she said as her seven-year old youngest daughter, Zehra, played with a friend close by.
Ms Kazmi moved to Rawalpindi, a garrison city adjoining Islamabad, in the 1990s when ethnic and political violence erupted in Karachi.
Taking advantage of a government scheme in 1992 in which a person can buy a taxi in easy instalments, Ms Kazmi bought a brand new yellow cab and started picking up passengers from the Islamabad airport.
She soon faced hostility from her family. Her male relatives threatened to "exterminate" her from the family and her in-laws were opposed.
"I haven't done anything wrong. Therefore, I don't feel ashamed," she said. "But my life was very tough," she said with tears rolling down her cheeks as she recalled the sufferings she endured during her life.
Born into an ethnic Pashtun family in Peshawar, Ms Kazmi moved to Karachi after her marriage where her husband worked for the Pakistan Navy. He became a prisoner of war during Pakistan's last war with India in 1971. The husband later died in 1981 after he was freed.
Initially, she kept a gun next to her seat inside the taxi for protection but she never felt any fear despite being a woman.
"I never let a man to sit beside me in the taxi and while driving I always kept an eye on the activities of passengers sitting on the rear seat through the mirror."
Ms Kazmi said she had driven her cab throughout Pakistan, from Karachi to the lawless tribal region on the Afghan border and even to Kabul during the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
"I never have had any mishap. I always earned respect because I am honest to my work and myself. I was strong enough to defend myself," she said.
Ms Kazmi was elected president of the Pakistan Yellow Cab Drivers Association for 12 years.
"I was the only woman driver but all men drivers have trust in me and that's why they always elected me unopposed."
Her career is all the more exceptional for the challenges faced by Pakistan's female workforce. According to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan 65 per cent of working women are engaged in low paid and unrepresented home-based work. Sexual harassment is common for those in the workplace.
Ms Kazmi said this should not deter women from accepting the challenges of life.
She is also a source of pride for her children.
"I can't drive more than 8 or 9 hours a day but my mother drives the car for 15 hours and even sometime 20 hours a day," Adnan Khalid, Ms Kazmi's 29-year-old son said.
A few years back, she bought a Toyota car from a bank on lease which she used for pick-and-drop service for passengers for remote areas.
"Her story is quite unique. It's inspiring to live with her and it's also an eye-opener," said Anca Dimoste, a student of Royal Holloway University of London, who is preparing a documentary on her life.
After driving taxi for over 20 years, Ms Kazmi said she has grown old and tired.
She remarried in 1995 and Zehra, now seven year old, was the only child from her second husband.
"Look at this," she said showing the wrinkles that have appeared on her hands. "Now, I can't drive long distances and at night because my eyesight has become weak.
Ms Kazmi said she wanted to buy a pickup van to give pick-and-drop service to school chlidren.
"Earlier, I faced hardships for my six children. Now I am facing hardships for Zehra only," she said in a choked voice.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
The specs
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On sale: Now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.