Helping women become professional drivers

Azad Foundation starts its operations in Chennai; the first batch of women come from a resettlement colony in Athipet

Azad Foundation, the Delhi-based non-profit that empowers resource-poor women to become self-sustaining professional drivers, has started its operations in Chennai.

The pandemic delayed its plans to roll out the ‘Women with Wheels’ programme in 2020 but they used the period to upskill women drivers, who had lost their jobs, in digital technology.

“We worked with 20 autorickshaw drivers, tying them with BigBasket so that they can earn a livelihood,” says Shrinivas Rao, national lead, Azad Foundation.

The first batch of women who graduated from the two-wheeler programme are from the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board tenements in Athipet, where they also undergo training in spoken English, digital skills and self-defence.

Finding women to enrol in these programmes has not been easy, so the Foundation is also exploring starting similar programmes at other neighbourhoods such as Kannagi Nagar and Perumbakkam where there is a scope and need to empower the community.

“We have been working with market players to make them understand how they need to relook at their policies to attract women,” says Rao.

Currently, the Foundation has an MoU with Jubilant FoodWorks where women trained under them are placed as delivery executives.