Female drivers driving towards empowerment

Ferdous Begum has been driving for 18 years and has traveled to 55 districts already.

Driving exhilarates her spirit.

But she is a careful driver too. She rightfully boasts that there is no record of accident in her driving career.

Back in 1998, she received training from Gonoshasthya Kendra to become a professional driver. She said she continued her driving there for six years. Later in 2004, she joined Care Bangladesh.

"I'm enjoying this profession very much. Being a woman, I'm doing the job of a man. Even my husband and family members never discouraged me."

Fedous, who is currently posted in Kishoreganj, draws around Tk 31,000 monthly, in addition to other facilities.

Though it is still a rare sight to see women on the driving seats of office vehicles, the number is increasing in Dhaka and elsewhere across the country.

Female drivers are being preferred by many employers as they have already earned the reputation of being comparatively safer with the steering.

Breaking the "social taboo" has been the only challenge for the women wishing a career in the driving profession, observed Aklima Khatun, director of Gonoshasthya Kendra, which runs a driving school for women.

Shahida Akhter, who also received training there, has overcome many challenges as she is still driving the vehicles of WaterAid.

Shahida said she sometimes had to face harassment on the roads. "After my marriage, my husband and in-laws used to force me to leave the job, but I didn't," she added.

Bobita Rani Das chose the profession in 2003 after receiving training from Brac. She is currently employed by IDE Bangladesh for its Rangpur office.

"I do not see myself as a female driving a vehicle, rather a driver doing her job. My salary is around Tk 20,000. I get other facilities, too," she added.

Shawkat Ali, secretary of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), told the news agency that the BRTA has also launched a driving school following the success of the programmes initiated by Gonoshasthaya Kendra and Brac.

"Around 500 female drivers took licenses from us. Their accident records are much lesser," he said, adding that the number of non-professional female drivers is also increasing.

According to BRTC, about 450 female drivers have professional licenses while 12,430 non-professional female drivers have the digital licenses.

"Female drivers are found to be more careful about rules and regulations. They don't have the tendency to overtake vehicles," said Engineer Nurul Islam, a BRTA director.

Gonoshasthya Kendra launched its training programme in Cox's Bazar in 1996. Following that, the NGO has launched two more free driving training programmes in Savar and Dhaka, added Aklima Khatun.

Brac kicked off its programme in 2012.

Begum Shamsunnanhar, acting secretary of Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, said there is a high demand for female drivers in overseas job markets.

"Till now, the number of female drivers is not mentionable. Mental or physical conditions are not a barrier, social taboo is the main reason why they do not choose driving as a career," said Aklima.