Help Women in India Become Professional Drivers

Your support and encouragement is vital to our work with resource-poor women, so we're pleased to share with you our 2016/17 annual report telling you about the remarkable year we've had...

• Enabling more than 580 women from urban resource-poor communities across India to embark on a journey of discovery and change through Women on Wheels programme
• Bringing the opportunity to earn livelihood in driving to resource-poor women in two new cities – Ahmedabad and Bangalore
• Seeing 111 trained women getting employed in numerous types of jobs. From working as valets to driving waste collection vans to transporting school children to teaching other women in driving schools, the range of jobs open to women drivers is slowly but surely expanding.
• Empowering the first group of 20 feminist community leaders that have reached over 18,000 people with information, and supported close to one thousand to get citizenship papers, access government social schemes and enroll for Women on Wheels
• Working with over 140 men in resource-poor communities towards more equal and safer spaces for women
• Reaching more than 1,200 adolescent girls to develop their awareness on issues related to gender and work, and open up their aspirations for future life
• Bringing the discussion on non-traditional livelihoods for women to the 61st session of the UN Commission on Status of Women in New York, Jaipur Literature Festival and to many other forums

Download here the 2016/17 annual report to hear the voices of change that speak about the impact these initiatives have had on their lives.

Here are a few glimpses of them...

"Azad has not only helped me get trained for a job and double our income—it has taught me to walk with my head held high." Joytsna, Women on Wheels graduate in Kolkata

"Earlier I could not even think of going out alone. I was even afraid of speaking to people. Now I am so confident that I can drive on my own to places, I can travel by bus and auto anywhere. I do not feel afraid anymore." Manju, Women on Wheels trainee in Jaipur

"My husband and in laws abused me constantly. I remember the day I learnt that my body is my right. I felt so angry because I realized that I have been accepting violence all my life. That night I told my husband ‘NO’. He tried to beat me up but my children stood by me. Now he does not dare to touch me." Lata, Women on Wheels trainee in Delhi

"I am confident that now I can drive as well as men do. My first job was with a lady running cosmetics business and I earned Rs 7000, which improved our economic condition and I was able to assure better medical care for my parents." Jayshree, Women on Wheels graduate in Indore

"From a house maid, today I’m a business owner - I decide which work to take, what is better for me and my family. All my relatives and friends are in awe of me, people notice and respect me, people see me as an example." Gayatri, Women on Wheels graduate in Bangalore

"I have now completed three months of DriverBen training and am determined to change how my community thinks about women. I will secure a job and prove to them that a woman’s world is not just limited to the kitchen." Gulabsa, Women on Wheels trainee in Ahmadabad

"I did a survey in my area to see what stops women from going to work. Majority of them said that they have small children so they are unable to go. I also saw many children whose parents had gone out to work, roaming around on the streets where people were hitting them or troubling them as they wished, with no one to stop them. It is then that I thought about starting a creche in my community.' Nupur, Parvaz programme graduate

"A real man doesn’t hurt anyone for the sake of getting what he wants. I want to be that kind of man. I want to work together with other men and women towards creating a better, violence free environment in my community, especially for girls." Naresh, Men for Gender Justice programme participant, Delhi

"I wish to be a working woman, and for that I will have to deal with all the barriers of family and my community." Seema, Azad Kishori programme participant in Kolkata.

Read the full stories and more in the annual report.

All these successes are the result of our collective vision, and possible thanks to your critical support. Thank you for believing in empowering resource-poor women to take charge of their lives.

I hope you enjoy reading the report!

Best regards
Veronika, on behalf of the Azad team and all the people whose lives you've touched

Links:

• Learn more at our website
• Watch stories of women drivers
• Follow us on Facebook