UNB, Dhaka :
The number of professional and non-professional women drivers is growing fast, as employers feel more secure with them. BRAC Driving School in the city has taken up initiatives to train women as drivers for free, who then go on to get jobs different NGOs, other organisations and privately-owned vehicles.
Many women are stepping into the world of driving as a necessity and as a hobby, said officials at the Traffic Police adding that the women drivers drive very carefully on the road and remain very alert.
Secretary of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) Showkat Ali acknowledged this while talking to UNB, adding that they do not drive rashly as opposed to some of their male counterparts.
He also said Bangladesh has to motivate more women to drive like all the other countries.
The secretary added that so far BRTA has issued 25.12 lakh professional and non-professional driving licenses till now, out of which 22,571 are women and the rest are men.
Captain (retd) Kuddus, in-charge of BRAC Driving School, said they have been training women drivers since 2012. They have trained 150 women in professional capacity and 1000 in non-professional capacity so far.
Their professional course costs Tk 15783, which takes 3-5 months to complete, which the non-professional course takes Tk 14753 and 25 hours (33 classes) to complete.
Gana Shastho Kendra director Aklima Begum told UNB that their organisation has trained 140 women drivers since 2009, who have since been employed at various organisations.
Shelly Akhter, a graduate from BRAC Driving School, told UNB that she was recruited by the Water Development Board two years back. A mother of two, Shelly’s husband works in Oman, while she earns Tk 21,000 a month and Tk 3,000 in overtime duty driving 9-5 on working days.
Shelly said, she does not face any problems when identified as a driver. Some drivers tend to stare or leer at her while she is driving, but that does not bother her.
Minu Ahkter, another driver who works for Care International, told UNB that she has been with them for the last three years and has a reputation for zero accidents till date.
She said, her office superiors are happy with the way she drives on the road. Lucky Akhter, a housewife who lives with her family in Bashundhara residential area, says she took up driving because her husband works abroad and she has to take care of all the family duties.
From dropping and picking her children from school to grocery shopping, she drives her own car. At first she admitted she felt uneasy, but gradually opened up to it and now has no problem whatsoever.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader told UNB that he has not heard of any untoward incident regarding women drivers till now, deeming them to be safe and alert drivers.
He said that if more women enter as professional drivers the public transport sector, they will thrive there too, as they are more responsible. The current BRTC buses which operate for women are driven by women drivers with the conductors being women as well.
The number of professional and non-professional women drivers is growing fast, as employers feel more secure with them. BRAC Driving School in the city has taken up initiatives to train women as drivers for free, who then go on to get jobs different NGOs, other organisations and privately-owned vehicles.
Many women are stepping into the world of driving as a necessity and as a hobby, said officials at the Traffic Police adding that the women drivers drive very carefully on the road and remain very alert.
Secretary of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) Showkat Ali acknowledged this while talking to UNB, adding that they do not drive rashly as opposed to some of their male counterparts.
He also said Bangladesh has to motivate more women to drive like all the other countries.
The secretary added that so far BRTA has issued 25.12 lakh professional and non-professional driving licenses till now, out of which 22,571 are women and the rest are men.
Captain (retd) Kuddus, in-charge of BRAC Driving School, said they have been training women drivers since 2012. They have trained 150 women in professional capacity and 1000 in non-professional capacity so far.
Their professional course costs Tk 15783, which takes 3-5 months to complete, which the non-professional course takes Tk 14753 and 25 hours (33 classes) to complete.
Gana Shastho Kendra director Aklima Begum told UNB that their organisation has trained 140 women drivers since 2009, who have since been employed at various organisations.
Shelly Akhter, a graduate from BRAC Driving School, told UNB that she was recruited by the Water Development Board two years back. A mother of two, Shelly’s husband works in Oman, while she earns Tk 21,000 a month and Tk 3,000 in overtime duty driving 9-5 on working days.
Shelly said, she does not face any problems when identified as a driver. Some drivers tend to stare or leer at her while she is driving, but that does not bother her.
Minu Ahkter, another driver who works for Care International, told UNB that she has been with them for the last three years and has a reputation for zero accidents till date.
She said, her office superiors are happy with the way she drives on the road. Lucky Akhter, a housewife who lives with her family in Bashundhara residential area, says she took up driving because her husband works abroad and she has to take care of all the family duties.
From dropping and picking her children from school to grocery shopping, she drives her own car. At first she admitted she felt uneasy, but gradually opened up to it and now has no problem whatsoever.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader told UNB that he has not heard of any untoward incident regarding women drivers till now, deeming them to be safe and alert drivers.
He said that if more women enter as professional drivers the public transport sector, they will thrive there too, as they are more responsible. The current BRTC buses which operate for women are driven by women drivers with the conductors being women as well.
