Mumbai’s first women Auto drivers | Fusion - WeRIndia

Women in India are still in the path to get true equality in society. There are many fields where it is almost impossible to find women.

Many careers or fields are still seen as unfit for women and they are often looked down on.

Such a situation does not change in a single night. It takes slow and steady progress to achieve that. One more step in this path to give better dignity to women was taken in Mumbai.

Earlier in Mumbai, an initiative regarding female driven cabs was taken. These are pink taxis are meant for the safety of women. I

t used to be a common problem for many tourists to be leered at by male cab or auto drivers. The pink taxis were made for that purpose.

Even in today’s day and age, many people prefer not to take a taxi and instead choose an auto.

To help women traveling through autos maintain their safety, the government of Maharashtra introduced a new scheme which reserves 5% of rickshaw permits for women.

This scheme was initially announced in early 2016. 465 licenses were given to women in Mumbai and Thane.

19 women have received special training for auto driving and they are ready to hit the roads of Mumbai.

They will be driving their brand new salmon color auto-rickshaws, wearing white uniforms.

Although they are specifically made for women passengers, these autos will take both male and female passengers unlike the pink taxis.

With such a move, many women from lower economic situations who did not have a job can set out to earn money.

This initiative was met with great enthusiasm as 40 women are already being trained for it and 500 more women have shown interest to step out of their house and earn.

Image credit: Image by Pexels from Pixabay (Free for commercial use)

Image Reference: https://pixabay.com/it/photos/asia-risci%C3%B2-asiatici-bangkok-auto-2179107/