Help Women in India Become Professional Drivers

Azad Foundation is dedicated to transforming the lives of marginalized women in India by enabling them to access non-traditional skill education and livelihoods, empowering them to achieve full citizenship, earn with dignity, and contribute value in their families and communities. With a focus on women disadvantaged by gender, caste, class, ethnicity, religion, race, and sexuality, Azad Foundation is making significant strides in breaking barriers and promoting gender equality and economic empowerment.

Facilitating Employment of Resource-Poor Women

Azad celebrated the successful conclusion of its commercial driving training program, conducted in partnership with Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This program, supported by ADB and EESL, empowered 200 women from resource-poor backgrounds by training them in commercial driving, including the operation of electric and conventional vehicles. Today, 150 of these women are working as professional chauffeurs and riders in the electric transport sector.

The impact of this program has been profound, transforming the lives of the participants by enhancing their self-confidence, mobility, and financial independence. These women have become the primary breadwinners for their families, challenging traditional gender roles and inspiring others in their communities.

Engaging Communities for Gender Justice

Azad Foundation’s commitment to gender justice extends beyond transformative skill training to broader community engagement. Through campaigns, Azad engages communities in conversations on gender, unpaid care work, gender-based violence, workforce participation, aiming to create a gender-just ecosystem that expands choices for marginalized women and girls. Our ‘Ghar Ka Kaam’ and ‘Samanta Bandhan’ campaigns have impacted over 45,000 people across nine states in India, in collaboration with more than 30 organizations. Azad’s trainees and young feminist leaders actively participated in these campaigns, playing a crucial role in driving conversations, raising awareness, and amplifying our message for impactful change.

The #GharKaKaamSabkaKaam (household work is everyone’s work) Campaign, launched on International Labour Day, collaborated with MenEngage India and the Non-Traditional Livelihoods Network to emphasize the critical value of unpaid care work, predominantly performed by women and girls. Through street plays, workshops, rallies, and creative activities like film screenings and puppet shows, the campaign encouraged men and boys to share caregiving responsibilities. Events like “PAPA’s Kitchen,” where men took on household tasks, sparked conversations about the equal distribution of care work, supporting women’s access to education and employment, and promoting healthier family dynamics.

The #SamantaBandhan (bond of equality) campaign redefined the traditional festival of Raksha Bandhan, transforming it into a powerful movement for gender equality. This campaign rejected patriarchal notions of ‘protection’ of women and girls and instead celebrated equality and mutual respect. Communities participated in tying the thread of equality to one another, symbolizing a commitment to gender justice. The campaign also addressed the burden of unpaid care work and violence faced by women and girls and promoted non-traditional livelihoods for women, fostering conversations about the importance of skill education and employment.

"When I cook food, everybody in the family sits together to eat and have conversations with each other," shares Chand (name changed), Men for Gender Justice Leader from Delhi.

"If men and boys help out with household work, mothers and women will get time for themselves," shares Rani (name changed), an alumna of the Azad Kishori Program of Azad in Jaipur.

Institutional Growth: Embracing Digital Transformation for Greater Impact

At Azad Foundation, we are embracing digital transformation to amplify our impact. This year, we have digitized all data related to our Women with Wheels programs, introducing a new dashboard designed to visualize our impact and identify areas for improvement. This shift to a digital framework will enhance data accuracy, streamline our processes, and minimize manual work, ultimately boosting our efficiency and effectiveness. Additionally, this transition includes building digital skills among our program teams, ensuring they are well-equipped to navigate and utilize the new system effectively.

In addition to this, we are excited to announce the re-development of our website, set to launch on 16 September 2024. The redesigned website will provide a more engaging and user-friendly experience, featuring updated content and improved compatibility across mobile and desktop platforms. These updates will facilitate easier content management and strengthen our ability to communicate our mission and impact to our supporters and stakeholders.

With Heartfelt Gratitude

All of this progress and impact would not have been possible without your steadfast support. We extend our deepest gratitude to all our supporters, who have been crucial to our journey. Your contributions are vital as we continue to strive towards a more equitable and empowered future for marginalized women and girls.

Azad is delighted to present its transformative efforts in empowering women from marginalized communities during the past financial year, spanning from April 2023 to March 2024.

The latest data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (2022-23) reveals a Female Labor Force Participation Rate of 37%, marking a 4.2% increase from 2021-22. Despite this progress, a significant gender gap persists, with the Male Labor Force Participation Rate at 78.5% in 2022-23. This indicates towards the patriarchal norms and structural inequalities hindering women’s entry into the workforce, including restricted mobility and decision-making, gender based violence, the burden of unpaid care work and the lack of gender-sensitive infrastructure and social security.

Azad adopts the Gender-Just Skill Education Framework for transforming the lives of women from resource-poor communities through nontraditional skill education and subsequent livelihoods in the profession of driving. Through this framework, Azad focuses on the entire ecosystem of change by ensuring transformative Skill++ training along with the creation of gender-just and inclusive communities, public infrastructure and markets.

Skills++ Training towards Transformation

Azad’s Women with Wheels transformative training program equips women with the skills to empower themselves, make informed choices for a more equitable and violence-free life, along with gaining skills and dignified employment. Built on the principle of Skill++, the training covers technical, life-skills and rights based education on gender, legal rights, bodily autonomy, self-defence, and professional communication.

This year, among the 713 women who joined Azad’s Women with Wheels program, 62% trainees belonged to marginalized castes, while 84% of them fall below the poverty line as per the World Bank indicators. In their journey with Azad, 66% of these women reported that they increased their mobility, 34% gained the confidence to engage with government and other offices to claim their rights, and 30% found the courage to raise their voice against violence.

511 women completed the Skill++ training, gaining not only employable skills but also the confidence to exercise decision-making, negotiate for shared care work within their families, and claim their rights. Of these, 311 women have entered the transport industry as professional chauffeurs and riders. Through their collective earnings of $148 thousand, they are reshaping their lives and those of their families by accumulating assets and investing in their children's education.

I reside in Kasba, Kolkata. After my husband's tragic passing, I found myself as the sole provider for my family of four. Despite my limited education, I worked tirelessly in various odd jobs to make ends meet. Then, I discovered Azad Foundation and embraced the chance for a dignified livelihood despite facing criticism from my community. Through Azad's training, I have gained confidence and skills and made my own identity. Today, working as a 4 Wheeler Uber Driver and earning around 15,000 rupees per month, I am financially independent and fearless. I dream of owning a car and securing a better future for myself and my family.

-Rina Das (name changed), Uber Driver, Kolkata

Building Supportive Communities Through Young Leaders

Our mission to cultivate supportive communities is realized through the empowerment of young men and women who serve as pillars of support for women to enter livelihoods with dignity.

The feminist leaders from our Parvaz Feminist Leadership Program have made significant strides by assisting 4,200+ women and men in accessing citizenship entitlements through documentation and linkage to social security schemes. They also supported 70 women in combatting gender based violence through assistance in filing complaints, providing legal information and connecting them with violence redressal mechanisms. Along with this, the leaders also facilitated gender-inclusive infrastructure in their communities by lobbying with the local government for maintenance of street lights, public washrooms, public places like parks and ensuring clean water supply.

We recognize that social norms are ingrained at an impressionable age and hence we work with adolescent girls to build their agency to negotiate higher education, skill training, menstrual hygiene and early marriage and with young men and with boys to explore alternative notions of masculinity and nurturing them to raise their voices against gender based violence and participate in unpaid care work.

In the year, 324 leaders including women, adolescent girls, young men and boys from the communities we work in, have been equipped to challenge patriarchal gender norms. Together, they have led impactful campaigns like Samanta Bandhan and One Billion Rising to challenge patriarchal control over women and combating gender based violence, reaching out to over 3,600 people on-ground and over 9,000 people online.

Towards Favorable Policies and Market

Azad’s efforts to create a favorable ecosystem for women entering the transport industry have yielded significant results over the past year. Through strategic engagement with policymakers, market stakeholders, and civil society organizations, Azad has facilitated the placement of women drivers across diverse roles and locations, ranging from bus drivers in Delhi, India, to trailer truck drivers in Hungary. Azad also actively collaborated with policy-makers, CSOs and market players for the passing of Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023, in July. The act extends essential social security benefits to gig workers, addressing their distinct needs and paving the way for a more conducive environment for women riders entering the e-commerce sector.

Your support is instrumental in providing life-changing opportunities for women from marginalized backgrounds. Together, let's strive to create a world where every woman has the chance to thrive, lead dignified lives, and have her voice heard.