Until recently, 21-year-old Zahra Zulfiqar juggled between home, work and studies like a superheroine. She helped her mother run the house, turned in all her homework on time, and quietly moved towards her dream of one day opening a media agency.
His progress in life, difficult but steady, however, came to an abrupt halt, as if it had been sabotaged, when the government announced an increase – one more – in the price of petroleum products. Zahra Zulfiqar wants to achieve her goal as soon as possible. Unfortunately, fuel is needed for this, and this is now beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Zahra Zulfiqar is one of millions of Pakistanis affected by soaring oil prices. She is also one of tens of thousands of women who are in dire financial straits because it is harder and more expensive for them to get around.
The day after the government released its second “oil bomb” – another increase of 30 rupees in one week – the on-demand bus service Swvl has decided to suspend its activity in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Faisalabad, in view of the “global economic crisis”.
This decision, which may seem normal for a start-up like Swvl, came as a shock to the women of Karachi: many of them used this service to make their daily journeys. Zahra Zulfiqar is one of those women who took the pink buses to travel between work, home and university.
A whole daily life organized thanks to this
“Since I started driving on my own, I start my day at 7 a.m., she confides. In the evening, before going to bed, I would book a Swvl bus for 7:46 a.m. in order to arrive in time for my 8:30 a.m. class. The bus arrived in the next street. So I just had to take the pedestrian bridge to find him, it took me five minutes.”
The journey cost him between 130 and 145 rupees.
“After school ended at 3 p.m., I easily found a Swvl at the college bus stop or at the Silver Jubilee gate, and arrived at the office on time. Sometimes even before the time I was supposed to start.”
Zahra Zulfiqar spent an average of 400 rupees on her