Twenty-year-old Zamarrud Parveen grew up in a conservative mohalla in Bijnor but moved to Delhi, along with her mother and three younger sisters, after she finished her eighth grade. After having worked in several places in the capital city, she is now earning a living as a driver with Uber.
She says being a driver with Uber gives her the flexibility of time that she needs to complete her B.A. from Jamia University, Delhi. “It was my mother’s dream to learn driving but we came from a conservative background so she wasn’t allowed. She thought if she couldn’t, at least her daughter should learn. She was the one who took me to the driving class and she too learned driving with me,” says Parveen.
For Mumbai’s Shabana Shaikh, life has changed in many ways after she became a driver. “I own a car, my business has improved and I can interact with educated clients. It enables me to support myself.” Originally from Ahmadnagar, she previously worked at a call centre. Her family didn’t support her decision to be a driver at first, but now that they see her doing well, they’re happy too. She says she enjoys the freedom of the job. It allows her to log in and work whenever she wants and calls it a “free mind job”.
According to Sheetal, 40, (New Delhi), “Before I was a worker, now I’m an owner. I feel proud and I have the independence to make my own decisions. I earned a salary before, now my income is my choice.” Coming from a poor background, she didn’t have too many opportunities but now is proud to be a car owner. She used to work in Gurgaon at a petrol pump.
Some are earning between ₹50,000 and ₹1 lakh a month. Passengers certainly seem to be taking a while to adapt to this change. While some hang up thinking it’s a wrong number, others ask when the women will be sending the taxi. They wonder aloud how a woman can be a driver. However, they are generally pleasantly surprised once they’re past the confusion. The women passengers especially are very supportive. They feel more comfortable. Some choose to sit in the front seat and chat as well.
“But people also have pre-conceived notions about female drivers. They keep directing me saying ‘keep left, keep right, slow down’. This one time, a family wore seatbelts in the backseat once they saw me!” says Kanchi Shah. The mentality that women are bad drivers may change soon though. Many passengers leave the car convinced that women can drive well.
Driving is not just for women from the lower economic strata. Kanchi Shah, who studied engineering in electronics and telecommunication, is now a freelancer who drives with Ola along with her event management job. She and her husband bought a car attached to Ola for some extra income but couldn’t find a suitable driver. So she decided to take it on herself. She used to earn ₹50,000-60,000 at her event management job and now earns ₹85,000-90,000 from Ola.
She continues her events job part time. She loves being a driver because she constantly meets new people and says, “ Some of the passengers still keep in touch. I’ve actually got a few clients for my event management business through this job.”
These women face little resistance from their families. Mahalaxmi Anand (Bengaluru), a housewife, saw an ad for Ola and immediately decided to take a loan and buy her car. She says, “My family is very supportive of my decision. My children keep saying how it is better than staying home all day and passing my time away. They are very proud of me too.”
Being a woman, the fear of safety persists. Zamarrud Parveen says,“I don’t work post 8 pm because I don’t feel too safe. There are mostly ladies in the day so there’s no worry.”
However, the 24-hour helpline provided by Uber and Ola helps them feel safer as their location can be tracked at all times.