City Businesswoman Launches Taxi Hailing App in Nairobi Exclusively for Women

A city businesswoman has launched an online taxi hailing service in Nairobi exclusively for female customers.

Entrepreneur Mehnaz Sarwar has unveiled an online taxi application dubbed An Nisa, which will only recruit women drivers and carry females only.

The move comes amid rising concerns over security of women boarding taxis in Nairobi city following complaints of sexual harassment and attacks.

Speaking to KTN News, Mehnaz said she decided to launch the service after finding it difficult to board taxis driven by men based on her Muslim religion.

"If you see a majority of drivers are male and only about 2% are women, I came up with this app to give women a chance to drive themselves given the insecurity fears among majority of women especially when driven by male drivers" said Mehnaz. 

A recent incident where a Taxify driver allegedly physically assaulted a female passenger who he had picked at United States International University (USIU) in Nairobi put taxi drivers on the spot.

After she arrived at her Kiambu Road apartment, the driver allegedly became violent demanding she pays more. When she declined, the completely enraged driver punched her and attempted to drive off while the lady was still in the vehicle. 

The company contacted her in an attempt to repair the damage by offering her free rides but she turned it down and reported the case to the police. Several other similar incidents have also been reported.