Female taxi driver wins admiration of residents in Kinshasa

In a city of over 10 million residents, Maguy Washilona stands out as a female taxi driver.

For over 5 years now, Maguy has taken on the profession that is dominated by men, winning the admiration of many.

Her courage is even more admirable, considering that she still makes time to contribute to her family where she is a wife and mother.

Every morning she conducts her usual household chores before heading to work.

“I start at 6 a.m. and work until 6.30 p.m. or at the latest until 7 p.m. when there is a lot of traffic then I head home to prepare supper” Maguy said.

Maguy is proud of her work as she is able to earn a living as well as participate in her share of household chores. She says she hopes to see other women embrace the profession despite the challenges involved.

Maguy has a supportive husband.

“Sometimes, I don’t do anything in the house because when I am working, my husband does everything. He prepares the meals, does the dishes. In short, the way we live is a little difficult to explain” she explained.

According to Tshilombo Nyembo, Maguy’s boss, he decided to employ her as a taxi driver because other drivers had posed him several problems.

“I have been working in this business for many years and I have many vehicles. I have had other driver who usually disturbed me a lot and that is why I decided to give my vehicle to the lady because of the way she was calm, the way she drove and she was honest” he noted.