By Invitation | Economist/Shell Writing Prize 2001

The long and winding road to women's transportation solutions

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Fifteen year old Maram lives in the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq. Despite being amongst the top percentile in her class, she recently dropped out of school. This hard decision was made by Maram and her parents with much anguish, as they are fully aware of the long term consequences. However, considering the circumstances, they felt that they had no option. Public transport was simply not available for Maram, and she could no longer bear the harassment she faced from men every morning and afternoon whilst making her journey on foot.

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