The number of cars may have risen at an alarming pace in the country and, the profession of driving may have become the most sought after career by semi-educated people but women and driving in Bangladesh still remains an unfinished picture. Indeed, a woman behind the wheels is still a rarity, a spectacle capable of drawing attention. Of course, in the capital, many women are driving but the ratio of women drivers compared to that of men is pathetically negligible. Perhaps, one in one hundred cars is driven by a female and, if we dare to look for a professional woman driver?
Well, as soon as Paulina Biswas drives out a vehicle owned by CARE, the oldest humanitarian organization working in this part of the sub-continent, she draws attention. After all, this is not a woman driving her own car but a woman earning her living. It may sound hard to absorb but women working as drivers has become a reality and, CARE has been one of the pioneers to train, employ and offer women drivers.
And, this has not been a one-time initiative. On May 16 last, CARE held the fourth graduation of women drivers and while the graduates were on the threshold of a new beginning, the organization was eyeing, with confidence, to start the fifth training course. The presence of prospective trainees for the fifth course proved that this has not been a step that needs an additional boost. But, giving employment to women drivers as a gesture is one thing and employing them as full times is something different. So, has this been just a move that had promises but no real value?
Well, Paulina and others like her have regular duties just like their male counterparts and, often, they have to return home late. 'Well, the common response of society is that a woman cannot be a professional driver because she will not be able to endure the long hours and the abrupt extra duties,' says Paulina and adds with conviction, 'This is nonsense. We work like others and we feel that we are more careful than our male drivers.'
Of course, Paulina did not mean to demean her male colleagues but her statement echoes the finding of a survey in the west which states unambiguously that, women being the more patient of the species are better and safer drivers. As Paulina was speaking at the graduation ceremony to gear up the ones to enter this challenging career, she seemed bold enough to assert that, being a female has never had any drawback on her profession. 'And, this has added to my self esteem and confidence; if men can do it then so can we,' she observed with marked resolution. But, how did this all begin?
Acting Country Director of CARE Bangladesh Hasan Mazumdar says that when he visited the transport section a few years back, the absence of female drivers bothered him as this turned out to be an anomaly in an organization where all departments emphasized on and reflected gender balance. 'I decided to expunge this imbalance and started with six female drivers,' he commented.
In time, CARE started recruiting rural ultra poor women, indigenous girls and those belonging to minority religions. After training, they were employed, and now the organisation has 16 women drivers and four mechanics. Important to note that BRAC and ICDDR,B have expressed a clear desire to appoint women drivers, especially mechanics from the CARE initiated training programme.
But employing women drivers should not remain confined within NGOs only. It's about time private car owners came forward to give women a chance. And, what about the socially vocal women who talk boldly and vociferously on women empowerment? They must come forward too; not with words but with action. The graduates from the fourth course are set to enter a new world and, this step forward will accelerate their pace on the track of globalisation where gender discrimination is becoming obsolescent. As for the male colleagues of Paulina, they believe that women, as drivers, are not only capable but also a socially powerful force. Well, maybe the saying 'men of quality are not afraid of equality' is setting in. |
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