Women drivers: Breaking the traditional barrier

Shahida Akhter at the steering of a four-wheel drive. PHOTO: STAR

Shahida, a village girl from Dinajpur, is one of the women drivers of Care Bangladesh, an NGO that took the initiative to introduce women drivers since 2003.

"From my childhood I had a dream of doing something different so when I got this chance I could hardly let the opportunity go," she said while talking to this correspondent.

Shahida started her career as a driver in 2004 when Care started recruiting women drivers for the first time. She learnt driving in Dinajpur for three months and then took six-month training in Dhaka in a Care-funded project.

"When I started the training at Dinajpur neighbours told my parents that girls should not drive and I will be spoiled if I do. At first my parents went against me but I made them understand that I was doing nothing bad. Later they gave me support in the face of immense social pressure," said Shahida.

"Now my posting is in Rangpur. Sometimes when I have duty in Dinajpur those who had criticised my father now look at me and regret. They also confess that they should not have married off their daughters early," she said.

Now I am able to take decisions and express my opinion in important family matters, she added.

Asked what she felt when she first started driving she said: "Every time I faced a hurdle I felt a woman can do what a man can do because she has got nothing less than a man."

About marriage she said: "Whoever marries me will have to accept my job because it is my way of life and a part of my existence."

Care Bangladesh did not stop at training women drivers it is also training women into car mechanics.

Lucky Maria Cruz, 19, a car mechanic hailing from Tetulbari village of Gazipur, was working at her workshop at Karwan Bazar. Clad in navy blue uniform Lucky talked about her training. Before coming here Lucky worked at an abbey of Christian nuns for five years in Bandarban.

"My father died 10 years ago and my family was living in poverty. I have a black complexion, which was an added problem. My village brother first took me here and I decided to prove myself and help my family," she said.

"I feel so great working here that I leave the workshop after everyone leaves in the evening. I do not want to sit idle for a moment," said an enthusiastic Lucky.

"Last time when I went to village someone proposed me for marriage but I refused when he did not accept my profession. I do not want to leave my job for the sake of marriage," she said.

Hasan M Mazumdar, deputy country director of Care Bangladesh and the author of this bold project told Star City about the initiative.

"A few years ago one day I went to visit our car workshop and noticed that everyone working there was a male. I felt that in Care we have gender balance in all sections save the transport section. I decided to eliminate this imbalance and started with six female drivers," said Mazumdar.

Care started recruiting rural ultra poor women, indigenous girls and those belonging to minority religions. It gave them extensive training and basic education so that they can understand the road signs. A separate budget was prepared for this project where the trainees had some stipend with free lodging. They also counseled the parents and brought them here so that they can see for themselves where their daughters are staying.

At first we faced internal staff resistance as male drivers feared losing their jobs but later they understood that there was nothing to fear. Now we have 30 female drivers some of whom are posted outside Dhaka, he said.

About the advantage of employing women drivers Care said that accident rate has gone down drastically as women are more careful than male drivers.

"At first we did not expect the simple village girls to fulfill all our expectations but they surprised us by their commitment and sincerity. When we doubted their ability they redoubled their effort. They did not let us down at any cost," said Mazumdar.

M Ruhul Motin, media support officer of Care said that they are replacing the male drivers whose contract expired or those who retired but they are not firing any male driver as it is not their policy.