Help Women in India Become Professional Drivers

Azad Foundation enables women from resource-poor communities to empower themselves with knowledge and skills, and earn a livelihood with dignity in jobs and markets that have traditionally been closed to them.

Women’s lives are shaped by diverse experiences and intersectional identities like gender, caste, class, religion, sexuality, and ability. An ecosystem approach is therefore essential, recognizing these diversities and ensuring that every system along a woman’s journey from home to public space becomes enabling and inclusive.

Moving beyond technical training for women to become drivers, Azad’s work also focuses on dismantling social, cultural, and economic barriers such as patriarchal norms, gender-based violence, and limited access to non-traditional skill education and markets.

Since April 2025, 368 women joined Azad’s Women with Wheels programme. Of these, 263 became employable by achieving their Driving Licenses, and 123 entered the transport industry as professional chauffeurs and riders. Alongside skill-building, our commitment to ecosystem-building included conducting two landmark evidence-based studies on gender inclusivity of infrastructure in work and public spaces in Delhi and Kolkata, strengthening our policy engagement.

At the same time, we recognize that to make a real impact in the world outside and to adapt to the changing contexts, Azad must also build strength from within. This inner transformation is taking place through the Next Generation Leadership Programme, which is nurturing collective feminist leadership, and through the ongoing Strategic Plan 2026–31 process, a collaborative and participatory effort to chart Azad’s future roadmap.

Cities Through a Gender Lens

Women at the Wheel: Inclusion in Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC)

After more than a decade of Azad’s engagement with the Transport Ministry, and with the government taking progressive steps, 93 women are now driving buses with the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC). Acknowledging that it is not enough for women to enter but also sustain in the sector, Azad conducted a study across bus depots where women are employed as drivers and conductors. While DTC’s inclusion efforts are commendable, the study revealed critical gaps in gender-inclusive infrastructure and practices, highlighting the need for hygeinic and functional toilets, safe rest and recreation spaces, women-friendly facilities, effective grievance redressal mechanisms and gender sensitization of staff.

Building on these findings, Azad presented key recommendations to DTC’s Managing Director on the urgent need for including gender-sensitization workshops for male drivers, and dedicated restrooms and improved sanitation facilities in depots for women. The response from DTC has been encouraging, and we are working to ensure that these recommendations inform future actions towards a more inclusive public transport system. From September 2025, Azad will also roll out a series of gender-sensitization workshops with DTC staff to help advance gender inclusion in its depots. Along with this, modules by Azad have now been incorporated as part of the curriculum in DTC on a regular basis

Public Sanitation in Kolkata: A Missing Link

Azad, in collaboration with the Sabar Institute, conducted a study on “Access to Public Toilets for Women, Trans and Queer People in Kolkata”, surveying 7,578 cis women and 38 trans/queer persons. The findings highlight how women workers in informal and non-traditional livelihoods—such as street vendors, domestic workers, construction workers, waste pickers, and drivers—often spend nearly 10% of their daily income just to access toilets. Even then, most facilities lack basic amenities, hygiene, safety, and dignity, effectively denying them a basic right.

The study further revealed that 62% of respondents found sanitation facilities inaccessible for individuals with disabilities or mobility impairments. Safety concerns are also pressing, with 53% of women reporting feeling unsafe while using public toilets, and 52% of trans/queer persons experiencing harassment. These challenges are compounded by the frequent presence of male attendants outside women’s toilets.

As one respondent shared: “The toilet is very dirty. There is a door, but it cannot be closed. It is always open—so if the guard is sitting there, or if someone passes by, everything can be seen. There are no lights. There is a place to throw garbage, but no one uses it properly.”

To share these findings, a stakeholder consultation was held in Kolkata with over 150 participants, including experts, academia, civil society, media, and community representatives. Key recommendations included creating gender-expansive toilets with appropriate signage for use by all genders, ensuring toilets do not become sites of violence, and providing basic amenities such as running water, handwashing stations, sanitary napkin vending machines, women staff for security, and adequate lighting.

These recommendations were presented to the Honourable Mayor of Kolkata and the Principal Secretary of Women and Child Development, who responded positively and expressed willingness to work towards inclusive, safe, and hygienic sanitation facilities. The study has also been widely covered in national and regional media, including The Hindu and The Wire, amplifying the urgency of addressing this issue.

Building the Next Line of Leadership

Azad is investing in the capacity building of its next generation of leaders to strengthen collective leadership both within the organisation and across the development sector. Members from diverse programmes and locations have been carefully selected to form the next line of leadership at Azad. The third batch, comprising nine emerging leaders, is currently undergoing training. Two phases have already been completed, equipping them with the skills, confidence, and perspective needed to lead Azad’s work into the future.

Charting Our Future Together

Azad has embarked on developing its Strategic Plan 2026–31 through a deeply participatory process. Extensive consultations with communities, staff, civil society organizations, and interviews with sectoral experts in livelihoods, gender, and mental health across all locations are shaping this roadmap.

Building on proven programmatic strengths while exploring new directions, the strategy will chart pathways to scale the Gender-Just Skill Education framework into new geographies and deepen its impact through strong, collaborative partnerships.

We remain committed to creating ecosystems where women from resource-poor communities can break barriers, enter non-traditional livelihoods, and live with dignity and independence. Each step forward is strengthened by your support, which helps us challenge exclusion and build pathways of equality. Together, we can continue shaping a future where every woman has the freedom to choose her path and thrive.

Links:

• Coverage of Kolkata Study in Times of India
• Coverage of Kolkata Study in The Hindu

• Executive Brief: Kolkata Study (PDF)
  

2024-25 is a year that reflected the strength of transformation, resilience and collective spirit. At Azad Foundation, we continued to stand with women from marginalized communities, supporting them in claiming their space, asserting their rights, and building lives of dignity and independence. Whether behind the wheel or at the forefront of community leadership, women trained through Azad’s programmes are driving powerful change by shifting mindsets, moving beyond borders, and pushing boundaries that challenge both patriarchal attitudes and physical spaces.

Through holistic, Skill++ training and strategic partnerships with Sakha, Janvikas, Rapido, and Baton Transport, these women are not just accessing employment, but are reshaping entire ecosystems. From securing driving licenses to leading feminist action in their communities and taking up international job opportunities, they are rewriting the narrative of what’s possible.

Training to Transform

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 772 women who joined Azad’s Women with Wheels program, 64% trainees belonged to marginalized castes, while 81% of them fall below the poverty line as per the World Bank indicator. In their journey with Azad, 72% of these women reported that they increased their mobility, 52% began making decisions independently, gaining control over their lives, and 38% claimed their identity with dignity.

532 women became employable by achieving their Driving Licenses and 278 women have entered the transport industry as professional chauffeurs and riders. Through their collective earnings of $468,000, they are transforming their lives and those of their families by building assets and investing in their children's education.

Pathways for Sustenance in the Market

Azad and its strategic employment partner Sakha entered into a partnership with Rapido, an Indian ride-hailing service, dedicated to equipping underprivileged women with professional driving skills, offering them job opportunities, and promoting economic empowerment within the transportation sector. This partnership aims to ensure that women can achieve a stable monthly income of up to Rs 25,000, and also assists trained female drivers by facilitating vehicle acquisition, handling registrations, providing mentorship and safety training, and conducting awareness workshops.

Through this groundbreaking partnership, Rapido has onboarded 30 women riders trained by Azad and Sakha as two-wheeler captains on their platform. The partnership was officially launched at ‘EmpowHer’, an event organized by Rapido, which also marked the signing of an MoU between Rapido, Azad, and Sakha to strengthen and expand this initiative.

The Chief of Staff of Rapido, shared during the event, “Through our collaboration with Azad Foundation and Sakha, we are dedicated to offering women meaningful employment opportunities and equipping them with the resources they need to succeed.”

Building Feminist Futures

28 feminist leaders from Batch 6 of Azad Foundation’s Feminist Leadership Program in Delhi, supported by ITC Vivel graduated in May- each with a powerful story of transformation. The program enables young women from marginalized communities to become leaders and change-makers in their own right, through training on gender equality, gender-based violence, leadership, and more.

These young women are leading change in their communities, promoting women’s rights and empowerment. With the collective strength of the women’s groups they have formed, they are working for essential infrastructure like bus stands and street lights and connecting women with documentation, social security schemes, and health rights.

Rehana (name changed), a graduate of the Program and a single woman, has gained the skills to navigate challenging situations from domestic violence in her personal life to becoming a community mobilizer. With the collective strength of her peer network formed during the program, she successfully managed establishing a bus stop in their area. She feels more confident today about holding those in authority accountable.

“Sometimes, I used to get really disappointed and disheartened but the peer groups we formed and women in those groups gave me hope and it kept me going,” says Rehana.

“One becomes a leader the day one learns to listen and not just talk,” says Ruchi (name changed), also a graduate of the program.

The convocation ceremony in Delhi, attended by well-known feminist journalist Bhasha Singh, featured a film screening and panel discussion celebrating the journey of these leaders and welcomed the next cohort of emerging leaders to the program.

Moving Borders, Pushing Boundaries

In 2023, Azad Foundation, along with its partners Sakha and Janvikas, joined hands with Baton Transport, a Europe-based logistics company, under the ‘Trucking for Equality’ initiative to create dignified employment opportunities for women. The partnership, an example of gender-inclusive employment practices, offers women drivers not only competent salaries, at par with male drivers, but also provides accommodation and social security, with monthly earnings ranging from 822 to 1,463 Euros based on their working hours. In addition, the company invests in training these women to help prepare them for working in another country, enabling them to sustain in these roles.

This year, the third batch of drivers has travelled to Europe, with several drivers from earlier batches ranking among Baton’s top drivers.

Mehak (name changed), one of the drivers who left for Europe in May, comes from a family where women were seen as a burden. After joining Sakha as a driver, she asserted her rights and began supporting other women in standing up against violence. Now, she has transitioned from a cab driver to an international trailer driver and her family stands proudly beside her.

“I feel emotional to leave after working here for seven years. But everyone must move ahead- because the sky is our limit. I am excited to transition to the next phase of my life,” she shares.

Leela (name changed), also from Batch 3, adds, “I have worked with Sakha for 12 years and am proud to be part of Azad and Sakha’s journey. 12 years back, we started with driving during the day, then gradually took on night shifts and went from driving within the city to going for outstation trips. Today, we are going to another continent to work. This is a huge success for us.”

As we look ahead, we remain committed to building a world where every woman, regardless of caste, class, religion, ethnicity, sexuality or ability, can live free from violence, lead their life with dignity, and shape their own future. Your support plays a vital role in making this vision a reality and creating life-changing opportunities for women from marginalized communities.