Surabhi Pandey, a single mother of two, feels happy to be a cab driver. She used to work as a domestic help and was apprehensive about venturing out alone in a car in the national capital. But now she knows how to handle lewd remarks and lecherous looks when behind the wheels. Like other women chauffeurs, the 35-year-old knows it is not easy to drive a taxi in Delhi. But she has not quit since the job has given her financial independence and confidence to work in a man's world.
‘I have been driving for six months. It is not an easy job. But I will not quit. I know how to handle lewd remarks,’ says Pandey, whose husband died 10 years ago. ‘I keep my cool and ignore such comments. But I find it difficult to handle men drivers. When they see a woman driving a car, they hoot, chase and try to overtake. It sometimes gets scary,’ she said. ‘I wouldn't have been able to do it earlier if I had faced a similar situation. But I'm more confident now,’ said Pandey, who mostly picks up staff of a private company.
Delhi has around 100 women cab drivers. And the demand for women drivers is growing ever since the gang-rape of a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus in the city on 16 December, 2012. There are many cab companies in Delhi but some, like Sakha Wings Consulting, exclusively cater to women passengers who need a safe mode of transportation. They have 10 women drivers, but have 45 women working as private chauffeurs on a yearly contract. Sunita Chaudhry, the first woman auto-rickshaw driver of the city, said she faced a lot of difficulties when she started out. ‘Getting a permit is also difficult. It took me three years,’ says Chaudhry.
The situation may, however, change for them with the Delhi transport department encouraging women to drive auto-rickshaws. The decision was taken after the gang rape incident.
Although there are few takers for driving auto-rickshaws at the moment, women are coming forward to drive cabs. This is also fuelled by the fact that women passengers specifically ask for women chauffeurs. Gcabs, has around 25 women-only cabs alongside its regular ones, but sends its women drivers home before 8 pm. ‘All our cabs are equipped with panic buttons that can alert our vigilance team in case of an emergency,’ says Babita Nihal, the company's chief executive officer. The company also teaches them martial arts.
‘I have been driving for six months. It is not an easy job. But I will not quit. I know how to handle lewd remarks,’ says Pandey, whose husband died 10 years ago. ‘I keep my cool and ignore such comments. But I find it difficult to handle men drivers. When they see a woman driving a car, they hoot, chase and try to overtake. It sometimes gets scary,’ she said. ‘I wouldn't have been able to do it earlier if I had faced a similar situation. But I'm more confident now,’ said Pandey, who mostly picks up staff of a private company.
Delhi has around 100 women cab drivers. And the demand for women drivers is growing ever since the gang-rape of a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus in the city on 16 December, 2012. There are many cab companies in Delhi but some, like Sakha Wings Consulting, exclusively cater to women passengers who need a safe mode of transportation. They have 10 women drivers, but have 45 women working as private chauffeurs on a yearly contract. Sunita Chaudhry, the first woman auto-rickshaw driver of the city, said she faced a lot of difficulties when she started out. ‘Getting a permit is also difficult. It took me three years,’ says Chaudhry.
The situation may, however, change for them with the Delhi transport department encouraging women to drive auto-rickshaws. The decision was taken after the gang rape incident.
Although there are few takers for driving auto-rickshaws at the moment, women are coming forward to drive cabs. This is also fuelled by the fact that women passengers specifically ask for women chauffeurs. Gcabs, has around 25 women-only cabs alongside its regular ones, but sends its women drivers home before 8 pm. ‘All our cabs are equipped with panic buttons that can alert our vigilance team in case of an emergency,’ says Babita Nihal, the company's chief executive officer. The company also teaches them martial arts.