Almost every afternoon over the last three months, the buzz around Maddox Square Park in Kolkata’s Ballygunge has been all about them. For two hours, they would take turns to slip into the driver’s seat of the autorickshaw, slowly gaining respect and confidence with every drive. Very soon, one of them will stake claim to a special tag — Kolkata’s first woman autorickshaw driver. “I have been working in an auto garage since I was nine after my father abandoned my family. I have also begged for money outside malls to support my two younger sisters and mother. But now, once I get my driving licence, I will not be leading my life at the mercy of others… finally,” says Mousami Sardar.
The 18-year-old is among the 60 women, all from underprivileged backgrounds, who are being trained by Gopal Sutar, an autorickshaw driver and local union leader.
Read more of this encouraging story, on how women empowerment is coming, in a report by Sweety Mishra published in The Indian Express.
