New Delhi: Delhi may be considered as an unsafe city for women, but more women here are opting for the road less travelled.
From driving a Metro Rail and DTC bus, to operating cabs and auto rickshaws, these women are venturing into fields that were a taboo for them just a few years ago.
Taking a brave step to promote gender equality, they want to be not just bread-earners, but also decision-makers.
Across the city, women are visible more than ever before on the front line of businesses linked to transport. They acknowledge that the perception about the security of women while travelling by public transport was never positive. So, they have set out to make a difference. Here are some of the trail blazers:
Vibha Kumari — Metro Rail Driver
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has 70 women drivers on various lines. Since technical jobs are usually associated with men, women drivers drew a lot of attention initially when the first batch was appointed in 2002. While they were excited about the job, a lot of men passengers had apprehensions.
“I often heard men exclaim: ‘The train is being driven by a girl!’” says Vibha Kumari, who has literally taken the national capital for a ride.
She was one of the three women to compete for the position and chosen along with 30 men. One of the first women recruited as a driver by metro authorities, she worked as a ‘motor man.’
“The first thing I did after joining was to fight for women’s identity and took up the issue with the authorities. I got the name of the post changed from ‘motor man’ to a gender-neutral ‘train operator’,” she says.
For her, driving the metro has been an exciting experience.
“Whenever people spotted me in the cab [area on the metro where the driver sits], they would rush to take a good look at me after disembarking at the station. And perhaps felt relieved and proud!”
Similarly, young girls would approach Vibha and inquire how to make a career in this field.
“There’s a common recruitment and training process for both men and women drivers. The job behind the wheel requires multitasking, as the person has to check signals and follow instructions. After spending more than a decade, I may be a pro, but never take my work lightly,” she says.
Born and brought up in Gaya, Bihar, Vibha says she always dreamt big and wanted to take up a not-so-ordinary profession.
Admitting that the train operator’s job is not an easy one, she warns, “It is quite tedious, as only one person is allowed in the cab and operates almost a dozen systems. The 8-hour shift requires 100 per cent concentration.”
Sarita Dixit — Cab Driver
Sarita Dixit was forced to quit studies, in 2009 after Class 12. Her father, a bus driver, was involved in an accident and life took a sudden downturn for the family. The Dixits had to sell the house they lived in to fund his treatment at a private hospital. Six years later, he is able to walk, but the onus of being the bread-earner for the five-member family is on Sarita. She is a chauffeur with Meru Eve — the white and pink-coloured taxi service for women passengers.
Sarita says, “To run the house, initially, I took private tuitions for Class 8 and then approached an NGO, which trained women to drive cars. I learnt driving and through them found placement at a professor’s house as driver.”
Citing economic hardship as the reason for opting to be a cabbie, regarded traditionally the world over as a male-dominated profession and an unconventional career choice for a woman, Sarita has grown to like her job.
But, it seems, it is only a stop gap arrangement for her. She says, I resumed my studies and am striving for a graduation degree next year. Subsequently, I intend to pursue law.”
Sarita needed a well-paying job and on hearing about Meru Eve’s launch early this year, jumped at the opportunity. One of India’s largest taxi companies, it’s seen as a solution for women worried about their safety.
From panic buttons in the vehicles to self-defence techniques, all women drivers have been trained on safety precautions.
She says, “There have been taxi services for women for the last few years, but our company has taken the concept to the next level. We are provided with pepper spray and the cabs are designed such that in case we are in trouble, the alarm signal as well as emergency lights will turn on immediately and notify the company as well as the Delhi Police. This is an important step towards women’s safety and empowerment.”
Sunita Chaudhary — Auto-rickshaw Driver
In 2003, then 25-year-old, Sunita Chaudhary made history by becoming the first woman auto driver in the city. She was among the first ten women drivers to be trained by the Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) to drive commercial vehicles.
Born in a conservative family in Uttar Pradesh, she had left her house after suffering domestic violence at the hands of her husband and in-laws. From doing sundry jobs to survive in the city, she later opted to drive a hired auto. But she had a run-in with the licensing authorities, who refused to give her the licence on grounds of her being a woman.
“They threw the documents on my face saying that no woman had been issued a driver licence in the past. When I said times had changed, they mocked me. I have fought many battles in life and was not ready to accept their verdict. I threatened the licensing department challenging them that I would go to the court and fight for my rights. It did the trick! Within days I got the licence,” she claimed.
Initially, she would sleep in the vehicle and change her clothes in public toilets at railway stations.
“I worked hard and began saving money to pay off the rent for a single room. That solved a lot of my problems,” she says.
Sporting short-cropped hair and a white uniform, her soon adventurous streak opened new doors for her and she took a bank loan to purchase her own auto. Ever since, Sunita has been ferrying passengers and enjoying adulation from them. Popular among travellers for being courteous and a disciplined driver, the 37-year-old has set rules for herself and lives by her inner strength and determination to do something different in life. “I have never followed traditions, but I follow traffic rules,” she laughs.
Isn’t she scared driving sometimes on deserted city roads at odd hours? “No way! I am trained in judo-karate and know to handle unruly passengers,” she says.
Nirmala — Bus Conductor
Most women in the city feel buses are the worst type of public transport in terms of safety. A survey conducted by Jagori, a not-for-profit organisation that works for women’s rights, claimed that 80 per cent of the respondents reported being harassed while using public transport. But then there are women working as bus conductors in Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) to support their families.
Before 2010 Commonwealth Games, DTC had hired over a 100 women as bus conductors. Short of staff, it had advertised vacancies. Several applied, including women. But unlike previous times when few women applied and were never recruited, the mindsets had changed. Many women were hired.
Nirmala, whose husband works with a paramilitary force, has been on the job ever since. Employed on a contract basis, she works 26 days a month to take home Rs10,000 (Dh580).
“My husband is very supportive and I work with pride. Together, we are able to provide good education to our two children.” she says.
Giving credit to her husband for a fresh approach to life, she says, “I was very shy, but he instilled in me the necessity to be bold and self-reliant. Though not an outgoing person, I wanted to take up a profession other than a beautician or tailoring — the limited options that are provided to women. Working as a bus conductor and dealing with public has made me confident.”
Initially, people would gape at women conductors and there were media interviews, but once the novelty wore off, work became routine and women learnt to deal with all kinds of people, even those who misbehaved.
Nirmala says, “One has to take things in stride. I treat my work as duty and do not pay heed to what people may say about me.”
However, her main concern for women in transport sector is lack of separate toilet facilities. “I hope the authorities do something about it,” she says.
