Women, in burqas, with children paddling in the sea in Central Asia
(Photo: © CMS)
A female contact, who has worked in Central Asia, touches on a few of the cultural challenges that a woman encounters there.
"What do you mean, I can't "phone for a mini-cab"?
That was my reaction when, a couple of days after arriving in my first CMS placement, I was faced with the realities of being a single woman in a conservative, Islamic city.
I was going out to a restaurant with a married couple and a single man. That was a respectable grouping, as long as we were careful about who sat next to whom. But then we needed to get home -- to different homes -- in the dark.
We were all new to the country, so our boss explained the options.
If we telephoned him when we were finished, he offered to drive to the restaurant, pick us up and drop us all at our separate homes. We felt a bit uncomfortable about interrupting his evening like that.
Alternatively, the other three could walk me home before heading back the other way to their own homes. So that is what we did.
A Central Asian street scene
(Photo: © CMS)
During my first week, I tried to learn about the strange city in which I found myself and to follow all the advice.
Single women are restricted in how they dress, where they can go and with whom, and must not on any account be out alone after dark.
Men and women, unless related to each other, should have no physical contact and no eye contact.
Women should not laugh in public.
Until women marry, they remain their father's responsibility, so since my father was thousands of miles away, I had everything to prove to convince people of my respectability.
When I was allowed to start driving, a whole new area of cultural challenge opened up.
I was given some invaluable advice -- that I was totally responsible for everything that happened in front of me, and not responsible in any way for anything that happened behind me.
Drivers do not bother with mirrors nor look over their shoulders before pulling away from the kerb or changing lanes.
So, as you come up behind another vehicle, it is your responsibility to use your car horn to alert the driver to your being there.
Otherwise, if a driver pulls out across your path in ignorance of your presence and there is a collision, clearly it is your fault because you had a clear view, whereas he could not be expected to see you behind him.
If your use of the horn was not quick or loud enough, you might also need to swerve, but that's OK, because you are not responsible for whatever happens in your wake. It does almost work, once you get the hang of it.
I also had to learn about the situations where hooting the horn doesn't work. I was reminded that horses don't have brakes, or reverse gears -- even if they are completely in the wrong, they will keep coming.
A donkey cart and its driver
(Photo: © CMS)
Donkey carts in the 'overtaking' lane, flocks of sheep crossing busy dual carriageways -- in these circumstances, it is not enough to hoot your horn.
Now I am back in the UK for a while. I have to learn to look men in the face, even if I do not know them, and shake their hands. I have to remember to use my mirrors when driving and not swerve suddenly.
However, the difference is that when I am abroad, people can see that I am a foreigner and they make allowances for me; here, they don't.