South African teenager’s women-only taxi firm

A South African entrepreneur has set up a women-only taxi company to protect women from violence in public transport and other taxi-hailing companies.

Asiphe Mkhefa,18, told the BBC’s Newsday programme that taxis had become a dangerous place for women hence her quest to ensure safe travels.

“Thirty-five per cent of gender-based violence comes from women being killed in public transport and e-hailing services. There’s a lot of stories that women have been murdered in taxis,” she said.

Ms Mkhefa said the taxi-hailing app was still being developed but an SMS service was in use.

“Not all people are open-minded, not all people are concerned about what is happening in the country. We have male citizens that are very concerned about the women and they are supporting the initiative,” she said.