¡®What does gender have to do with it?¡¯ Passionate about driving, Maryam Fayaz was determined to join her husband on the road. Her persistence paid off. Here¡¯s her story in her own words.
I always wanted to have a profession that no other women in my surrounding circle had ever done. I always wanted to be a famous woman.
Gender has nothing to do with one¡¯s skillset and ability. Both men and women can do any job, both can get behind the wheel. Everyone has a certain capability. They just have to discover it.
Growing up, all my toys were some kind of vehicle, ¡°boy toys¡± as they say. When I got a bit older, I would beg my dad to let me drive. But becoming a professional driver was not really on the table.
Then I met my husband, who was also really into cars. He got his bus driving licence within a month or two of our marriage. That motivated me to go and do the same.
He did warn me that being a bus driver can be challenging. But that didn¡¯t dissuade me.
At first, I sought to become a taxi driver. But the taxi association told me that they don¡¯t have any woman taxi drivers. They said, ¡°it¡¯s impossible to be a woman taxi driver¡±. I told them that ¡°anything impossible can become possible¡±. I eventually managed to start working in a taxi agency for school children under the auspices of a taxi organisation.
But I kept telling my husband that I want to get my bus licence and join him on the road. Many journeys require two drivers.
I can dare to say that I was the first Iranian woman to get my heavy-duty vehicle licence. It wasn¡¯t easy. They would say to me, ¡°why do you want a heavy-duty vehicle licence?¡± I always gave them the same response, ¡°because I¡¯m passionate about this profession¡±.
After two years, I finally started working alongside my husband. But it was quite a culture shock for other road users. They had never seen a woman bus driver. They would say a lot of negative, disheartening things. But I would just ignore them. In one ear, out the other.
