Blog #1 Wanderlust: the taxi queens of South Africa

Wanderlust: the taxi queens of South Africa

This article reported the trend of “taxi queens” in South Africa. Taxis are VW mini busses that follow certain routes, particularly along or out of the townships and slums that are very inexpensive and pack many people to commute to school or work. I lived in South Africa for five months and used them regularly. Taxis are basically the left over stamps of apartheid, created to transport the displaced non-white citizens from their townships into work, a function that remains the same today after the end of apartheid. Taxi queens are young pre-teen or teenage girls who are coerced to sit in the front seat and attract passengers. In return, they do not have to pay for their fare, which is the equivalent to or sometimes less than a dollar. A dollar goes a long way for a ride to school when the other means of transport are either by a very expensive cab, or by the metro-rail which is twice the cost and twice the time of transport. For the community taxis are designed for, the equivalent of a dollar is sometimes the most one can spare. Most girls have learned to not fall victim to the romancing of the drivers, but taxi drivers coerce girls with gifts or even drugs and soon enough, the relationship between driver and taxi queen turns sexual. Girls from poorer families participate because it is their only way to get to school. Others do it to afford designer clothes or for social status or, though the term “taxi queen” has become derogatory. Patrick Solomons, director of a children’s rights foundation, states that children are “groomed into these scenarios,” coming from backgrounds of gang violence in the family and are sometimes encouraged by the family. This article struck me because I remembered the horrific poverty and the lengths some ventured to survive in South Africa. The article didn’t surprise me, it only continued to sadden me to know there were children fighting for a chance at education but hindered by their socio economic status. While taxi drivers exploit girls for extra cash, girls exploit themselves for an education, and everyone is just trying to get by. This article proved to me how stagnant and regular poverty is that children understand the meaning of survival and even resort to sexual deviance.


http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/africa/101213/wanderlust-taxi-queens-south-africa-aids#