Epress.am News from Armenia
A personal story published on the Women’s Resource Center of Armenia website recounts the story of a young Armenian-American woman’s experience of taking a taxi just a few days ago in Yerevan.
The post reads as follows:
“On November 7th, around noon, I flagged down a cab to go to see my friends… We planned to go to Vernisage, a market that is open only on Saturdays and Sundays in Yerevan. At Vernisage we planned on buying Christmas presents for our families, since the holidays were just around the corner.
I had been told that sitting in the front seat of a cab in Armenia is not the smartest decision to make when you are a woman, and when you are alone; however, I was in a rush and not thinking clearly, so I jumped in the front seat of the cab.
“Almost immediately the driver began to talk to me, asking me what my name was, where I was from, if my father lived in the area, if I had any brothers or sisters, and what my phone number was.
“I was not in the talkative mood, nor was I interested in where the conversation was going, so, aside from a couple of head nods, I kept quiet. It wasn’t before long that the driver pulled out a piece of paper with his phone number on it and told me to call him, an offer in which I sternly declined. He then began to touch my thigh and then my face and neck. After assertively telling him “NO” and removing his hand from my body he instructed “not now, later.” Clearly it wasn’t enough that I said no, nor was it sufficient that I was assertive in my statement.
“I instructed him to stop the car and told him that I wanted to get out, a declaration in which he quite casually chose to ignore, and instead began to put his hands on me again.
“I can’t say I wasn’t scared, but I can say that I did not come off that way. After aggressively slamming on the dashboard, raising my voice, and pointing my finger in his face, he did stop the car. I quickly got out, and without paying.
“No woman should feel afraid when they are alone in a cab with a man, or anywhere for that matter. It is not up to a man to dictate whether or not I should feel uncomfortable and certainly not acceptable for a man to put his hands on me without my consent. It is also not right for a woman to have to sit in the back of a cab to be safe from sexual or verbal harassment. A man should NOT feel entitled to do what he pleases with a woman under any circumstances, it is not his right.”