UNB, Dhaka :
Though it is still a rare sight to see them on the driving seats of office vehicles, the number of professional female drivers is increasing in Dhaka and elsewhere across the country.
More encouraging is the fact that female drivers are being preferred to the male ones by many employers as the former have already earned the reputation of being comparatively safer with the steering.
Breaking the ‘social taboo’ about it has been the only challenge for the women wishing a career in the driving profession,
observed Aklima Khatun, director of Gonoshasthya Kendro, which runs a Motor Driving School for women. Shahida Akhter, who received training from Gonoshasthya Kendra, has overcome many challenges as she is still there driving the vehicles of Water Aid. Shahida said she sometimes had to face harassment by male drivers 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. Ferdous Begum, who also received training from Gonoshasthya Kendra back in 1998, has a different story to tell. She said she continued her driving there for six years. Later in 2004, she joined Care Bangladesh.
“I always feel better …I’m enjoying this profession very much. Being a woman, I’m doing the job of a man.
Even my husband and the other family members never discourage me. I have already traveled 55 districts for my professional duty but I haven’t faced any trouble for being woman so far,” said Ferdous Begum.
Though it is still a rare sight to see them on the driving seats of office vehicles, the number of professional female drivers is increasing in Dhaka and elsewhere across the country.
More encouraging is the fact that female drivers are being preferred to the male ones by many employers as the former have already earned the reputation of being comparatively safer with the steering.
Breaking the ‘social taboo’ about it has been the only challenge for the women wishing a career in the driving profession,
observed Aklima Khatun, director of Gonoshasthya Kendro, which runs a Motor Driving School for women. Shahida Akhter, who received training from Gonoshasthya Kendra, has overcome many challenges as she is still there driving the vehicles of Water Aid. Shahida said she sometimes had to face harassment by male drivers 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. Ferdous Begum, who also received training from Gonoshasthya Kendra back in 1998, has a different story to tell. She said she continued her driving there for six years. Later in 2004, she joined Care Bangladesh.
“I always feel better …I’m enjoying this profession very much. Being a woman, I’m doing the job of a man.
Even my husband and the other family members never discourage me. I have already traveled 55 districts for my professional duty but I haven’t faced any trouble for being woman so far,” said Ferdous Begum.
