Breaking the glass ceiling: Gaza now has a woman taxi driver

Palestinian mother-of-five Nayla Abu Jubbah launched a small revolution this week by becoming the first female taxi driver in the deeply conservative Gaza Strip.

In the impoverished Palestinian territory, women have the same legal rights as men to drive a vehicle, but in practice the trade of taxi driver has been exclusively male -- until now.

The Israeli-blockaded territory was suffering 50 percent unemployment even before the Covid-19 pandemic.

After drinking a steaming cup of tea in her home, the social work graduate in a headscarf puts on a face mask and marches to her car parked outside. After slotting her smartphone into its holder and giving a toot on the horn for show, she starts the engine and is off on the roads of Gaza, where the Islamist Hamas movement has ruled for more than 13 years.

Abu Jubbah does not cruise the streets for fares, taking only advance bookings. She bought the vehicle with her inheritance when her father died.

Today she is driving through the streets of Gaza City to pick up 27-year-old Aya Saleem for a shopping trip. Saleem is delighted with the idea and hopes to see more female taxi drivers on Gaza's roads soon.

Abu Jubbah says she wants to expand her business.