Azam Heidari, who has four children in their twenties, is the proprietor of a Tehran taxi agency with 15 women drivers.
Converting the basement of her home in Zibadasht, in the west of the city, Mrs Heidari is one of a new breed offering a service for clients who are women or sometimes couples with children - but never men alone.
Women-only taxis are active on grounds of personal security in London, Cork and Rio de Janeiro and are due to start next year in Dubai. In Japan and Egypt there are women-only carriages in trains.
In Iran's Islamic republic, politicians and clerics pore over women's role in public life and their interaction with men, from the workplace to education to football stadiums.
Hijab, Islamic dress with which women cover their hair and bodily curves, was seen by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Islamic revolution, as a way to increase women's role outside the home, but the Islamic republic has also sanctioned segregation in some instances. It was announced this month that women-only police stations are to be extended after successful pilot projects.
Likewise, women-only taxis are slowly gaining official recognition. "There is only one condition," says Zabiollah Rezaie, a cleric who runs the corner shop near Mrs Heidari's taxi service. "Women drivers should have full hijab, as the driver is like a teacher, an example to others."
Mr Rezaie recognises the economic benefit for women drivers, especially those who have no husband as provider. "Women need to make ends meet - that's why they're here," he says. "By working, they do not become a burden on society."
Simin Nasseri, who has worked as a driver for five months, says clients love the service. "Whenever we go, customers are happy," she says. "One of my regulars has shell shock and bad nerves. Another has problems with her husband, who gets jealous if she goes anywhere with a male driver."
Masoumeh Ahouwan, an energetic woman in middle age, has led the campaign for recognition of women-only taxi services, which have existed in a haphazard and semi-official way for some years in Tehran and some other Iranian cities.
Her main motivation, she says, came from incidents where women have been raped or killed after being picked up by male drivers.
"Once my daughter was going to a violin lesson when the driver flirted with her and became angry when she didn't respond. When I called the company, they said they'd hired the driver the day before without doing any checks."
Mrs Ahouwan became interested in the idea while still working in her father's mining company but it took six years to get permission from the interior ministry. In June approval was finally given.
"I received great support from my husband, who died earlier this year, and I'm comfortably off," she says. "The Islamic republic has given greater freedom to women, and it's up to us to make use of it."
With petrol subsidised by the government and limited public transport, taxis are the most common means of getting about for Tehran's 12m population. Some are shared, some driven unregistered by individuals trying to supplement low wages, and some are run as agencies from fixed premises that respond to phone calls. The women- only services are agencies, and Mrs Ahouwan intends to set up a separate taxi syndicate for them, with training organised in self-defence and car repair.
Drivers tend to be married but they vary in age and appearance. The work, which brings in 120,000 to 190,000 rials a day ($13-$21, €10-€16, £7-£11) with flexible hours, brings status as well as income.
"It gives you a feeling of being useful - because it's a 'male' job, you feel power and confidence," says Neda Malekpour.
Katayoun Pouraria uses the service herself. "I send my own seven-year child to school with a woman taxi because women are safer drivers," she says. "We're not just drivers, we're mothers, and that attracts customers."
