The Jaipur literature Festival is witnessing a slew of women as chauffeurs bringing a new vibrancy to the ongoing literary hub. Jigyasu Joshi reports
One would imagine them to be feminine chauffeurs. But they are all tough ladies hardened by struggle and poverty. Yet, when you see them behind the wheels manoeuvring the unruly cacophonic traffic on Jaipur’s unsympathetic and noisy roads made even more dangerous with potholes and backbreaking speed breakers, you spot nothing but a smile.
In 2009, it was just a distant dream for Chand when she decided to become a chauffeur. Now few years down the line, she has beaten all odds to become a professional cab driver. “It was not difficult to convince my family. The difficult part was to convince the society. They said things like this is men’s job and it’s not safe to drive and all. But I was determined to do what I wanted to do,” says Chand.
She is not just a professional driver but also the first lady trainer at the Maruti’s driving school. For Chand, holding the steering wheel is akin to empowerment.
This, precisely, is the primary goal of Azad Foundation. The NGO makes self-sufficient professionals out of young women. Their job is to prepare and empower young women so that they can live with dignity and independence.
later, Chand found out about the NGO and began training under it. She now works as a professional chauffeur with Sakha Consulting Wings, a placement agency that provides employment to women drivers.
“I lost my husband in 2009 in a road accident. I was terrified of driving then but I had to take care of my family, my kids. So I came over with my fear and decided to hold the steering wheel,” says proud Chand.
Chand is not alone. In fact, hundreds of women have trained with the NGO under their programme ‘Women on Wheels’.
Sakshi, who also works as a private chauffeur and her journey wasn't a bed of roses either. She was a victim of women abuse and was left to survive alone. Soon she took hold of her life and decided to learning driving and earn a living through that.
“When I started training, a lot of people ridiculed and harassed me, saying I could never be a driver. They even harassed me,” Sakshi says.
When asked if she is noticing any positive changes in herself after joining the NGO, she says, “Earlier, I was shy. Now I can talk to people. I go out and visit places. Being a driver gives a different sense of pride.”
The Azad Foundation started the ‘Women on Wheels’ programme in 2008 for helping the women in India to live with pride. The NGO has trained as many as 700 women so far, out of whom more than 400 are working as professional drivers across the nation.
The director of the NGO, Meenu Vadera was in conversation with publisher Urvashi Butalia at the Jaipur literature Festival to discuss and bring fore the stories of such survivors.