Help Women in India Become Professional Drivers

Enabling Women Non-Traditional Professionals

At Azad Foundation, we continue to stand with women from marginalized communities, supporting them in claiming space in the non-traditional sector, asserting their rights, and building lives of dignity and independence. Central to this journey is our belief in continuously learning from past experiences, adapting our strategies, and reimagining the path ahead.

Grounded in this belief, Azad expanded the impact of its Women with Wheels programme in 2025-26. We instituted the Centre for Gender and Masculinities, emerging from our long-standing experience of working towards enabling environments for women and girls through engagement with men and boys. Alongside this, we continued to strengthen our internal systems through the digitization of our Management Information System (MIS) and Learning Management System (LMS). Drawing from years of experience and valuable contribution from our co-travellers, we also charted a roadmap for the next five years, reimagining our vision within evolving national and global contexts.

Women Non-Traditional Professionals: Expanding Impact

Azad’s Women with Wheels is a transformative training program which equips women not only with professional driving skills, but also with the knowledge, confidence, and agency to make informed choices towards more equitable and violence-free lives.

This year, we expanded our impact by strengthening community engagement at one end and market engagement for placement opportunities at the other, while continuing to ensure quality training across locations.

More women entered dignified employment through the programme this year:

• 796 women joined the Women with Wheels training programme, compared to 772 last year.
• 626 women became employable after obtaining their driving licenses, up from 532 last year.
• 340 women secured employment as professional chauffeurs and riders, compared to 278 women in the previous year.

Among the women who joined the programme, 62% belonged to marginalized caste communities, and 92% come from families living below the poverty line. Their journeys with Azad have led to significant personal and social transformation: 54% of these women reported that they increased their mobility, 31% gained control over their lives and 27% participated in campaigns and community initiatives.

Together, these women earned a collective income of USD 511,964, enabling them to support their families, build assets, and invest in their children’s education.

“After getting my license, I joined Rapido as a delivery partner. I earn around USD 125 every month and am saving to support my mother and sister. Earlier, I had no exposure outside my home, but today I am a much more confident person.”

-Two-wheeler rider from Chennai

“Getting my permanent driving license made me realize that I have my own skills and the ability to achieve something meaningful. The self-defense classes and the sessions on legal rights boosted my self-confidence.”

-Four-wheeler driver from Delhi

Centre For Gender and Masculinities

Azad’s experience has consistently shown that gender justice requires not only enabling women, but also transforming deeply entrenched patriarchal norms by engaging men as partners in change. Grounded in the commitment to advancing gender-equitable attitudes and behaviours for a more inclusive society, Azad launched the Centre for Gender and Masculinities —a dedicated space for learning, reflection, and collaboration to challenge harmful masculinities.

Through its Gender Equality and Masculinities Course, the Centre conducted training for its first batch of practitioners, deepening their understanding of gender and masculinities. In May, the Centre also geared up to organize a National Conclave on “Reframing Masculinities” in New Delhi, bringing together activists, researchers, artists, educators, and changemakers to collectively rethink masculinities and advance gender justice.

Digitization for Efficiency and Scale

In an increasingly digital world, Azad is adapting by digitizing its Monitoring Information Systems (MIS) and Learning Management Systems (LMS) across locations. While the digitization of MIS aims to improve programme monitoring and evaluation, a digitized LMS will support the scaling and expansion of Women with Wheels, one of Azad’s core priorities for the future.

The digitization process has begun with the Women with Wheels and Feminist Leadership programmes, and is gradually expanding to others, including Men for Gender Justice and Azad Kishori programmes.

Under the LMS, we have initiated the digitization of training modules. Four modules including Gender & Patriarchy, Learner’s License, Spoken English, and On Road have already been digitized and tested across locations, while four additional modules are currently under development.

Strategic Planning Process: Roadmap for Next 5 years

To prepare for the next five years, Azad initiated a collaborative and reflective strategic planning process rooted in dialogue and collective visioning. Beginning with a Blue-Sky Thinking exercise, we undertook extensive consultations with team members, community members, Board members, co-travellers, and sector leaders. Their grounded insights and perspectives helped shape a new strategic vision aligned with changing national and global realities.

The resulting Strategic Plan 2026-31 charts pathways to scale the Gender-Just Skill Education framework into newer geographies while deepening our impact through strong partnerships and ecosystem-building.

Our Annual Reflection Process

The Azad family came together for its annual learning and reflection process of three days filled with conversations, learning, stories, and collective growth. 66 staff members joined from across Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata and Chennai offices.

The sessions focused on deepening our understanding of issues such as caste, gender identities, and the opportunities and challenges emerging within the gig economy sector. Conversations around Azad’s organisational values reinforced the importance of practicing these values in everyday work and relationships. Team-building exercises further strengthened connections across teams and locations.

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.

Links:

• Strategic Plan 2026-31
• https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXto7rSCTfp/?utm_source=ig_web_co

Across communities, women continue to step into spaces long denied to them, claiming mobility, livelihoods, and the right to shape their own futures. Working alongside resource-poor women and gender-diverse people means navigating deeply entrenched inequalities and systemic barriers. Yet hope, resilience and adaptation remain central to Azad’s work, inspired by the determination and courage of the women and communities we work with.

Azad continued to build gender-just ecosystems through the launch of the Centre for Gender and Masculinities and deepening our work with men towards gender justice. Rekindling the spirit of collaboration, we examined possibilities of expanding opportunities and ensuring sustenance of women in non-traditional livelihoods across wider geographies.

Women Who Went Beyond All Odds

In 2025, 813 resource-poor women joined Azad’s Women with Wheels program to learn two- and four-wheeler driving. 627 women secured permanent driving licences, and 323 entered the transport workforce. Enabled by the technical and self- empowerment training, these women have gained greater control over their lives by enhancing their mobility, exercising control over their income, investing in assets and challenging gender-based violence. At Azad, every story reflects not only individual transformation, but impact that ripples across families and communities.

“When I drive, I feel proud. I no longer need to depend on my husband. I can see a future for myself and my son,” shares Kavitha (name changed), four-wheeler driver from Chennai.

Kavitha married young and had to discontinue her education due to poverty. Despite working from the age of 15 to support her family, marriage brought new hardships. Over time, she faced severe domestic violence from her husband, finding no support from her family or police.

Everything began to change when Kavitha joined Azad’s four-wheeler driving training. Through legal awareness sessions, she learned about her rights under the Domestic Violence Act and began to rebuild her sense of safety and self-worth. Determined not to give up on herself, she completed her training, obtained her license, and secured a driving job within seven months.

Today, Kavitha earns around 23,000 (256 Dollars) per month as a driver with Lithium. She manages her finances, supports her son, and has even purchased her own car. With financial independence came the courage to assert her rights. She challenged the violence she faced and no longer fears her husband. Kavitha now dreams of starting her own travel company and creating opportunities for other women like herself.

Engaging Men as Accountable Partners for Gender Justice

Azad recognises that gender justice requires not only enabling women, but also the transformation of deeply entrenched patriarchal norms by engaging men as partners in change. Grounded in the commitment to advancing gender-equitable attitudes and behaviours for a more inclusive society, Azad launched the Centre for Gender and Masculinities.

The Centre is a dedicated space for learning, reflection, and collaboration to challenge harmful masculinities. It aims to strengthen organisations and practitioners working with men and young boys, building a cadre of changemakers committed to ending gender-based violence and supporting women’s choices and leadership.

Seeing transport as a critical space where every day public experiences are shaped by male staff, Azad identified the need for actively engaging them, to ensure inclusive workplaces for women. With a strong partnership with the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), Azad has conducted gender-sensitisation workshops with over 2,500 male drivers and conductors, fostering conversations on gender, masculinity, emotional expression, and workplace respect.

New Roads for Women in Hyderabad

In collaboration with Chindu, a Hyderabad-based organisation, Azad conducted a feasibility study to assess the viability of four-wheeler driving training for resource-poor women. The study revealed a growing demand for women-driven transport services in the city, while highlighting the barriers faced by women in accessing training and the financial requirement for such an initiative. These learnings lay the foundation for a future expansion of Women with Wheels in Hyderabad, presenting an opportunity for livelihood innovation, gender justice, and social transformation.

We need your support to continue our impactful work. 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.

Links:

• Centre for Gender and Masculinities