Thursday January 31, 2013, 11:59 am
Rhitu Chatterjee

Rhitu Chatterjee is a science correspondent for The World.
Women Cab Drivers in New Delhi
January 23, 2013 ⋅ Post a comment

Shanti Sharma has been working with Sakha cabs for a little over a year now. (Photo: Rhitu Chatterjee)

Shanti Sharma is 31 years-old and is raising three daughters by herself. She has been working with Sakha cabs for a little over a year now, and is proud to be providing a safe mode of transportation for Delhi’s women. (Photo: Rhitu Chatterjee)
The recent gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old medical student in New Delhi has shed new light on just how unsafe the city is for women. Most women in Delhi say that they routinely face harassment – and worse — on public transport and on the streets.

It has forced many to adopt a range of measures to deal with the problem. Women who can afford it have their own cars, many with chauffeurs. Others move around in the company of family and friends. Many have to risk public transit.

But now, there’s another option. At least for a few women in the city.

It is a small service that offers safe transportation for women. And it started off as an experiment.

The service is called Cabs for Women by Women. It is a small service; just seven cabs and eight female drivers. They only pick up women.

I got a ride with 31-year-old Shanti Sharma. She says the popularity of their service has spiked since the gang rape in December.

“After this case, our work load has increased so much,” she says. “Women who used other cab services are also turning to us now.”

These are middle-class women and relatively affluent, especially those who travel alone a lot. And some like me are new to the city, or just passing through.

Sharma tells me that one customer recently told her that even if it’s more expensive than most car services, and you have to call ahead and book it, it’s worth it. Especially so after last month’s attack.

Sharma is happy to be providing this service.

“When I’m on the road driving our cab I feel very proud, because this is a cab service for women, and I’m a woman,” she says. “Our work is supporting the women of Delhi. We’re giving them safety.”

But safety for women is just one goal, says Nayantara Janardhan, who is with Sakha Consulting Wing, the non-profit that runs the cab service.

She says the project was a joint effort with another group, Azad Foundation, which helps urban women from poor and marginalized communities.

“Azad foundation wanted to provide non-gender typical livelihood options to be able to allow these women to earn at par with the men,” says Janardhan. “They wanted to put women in charge of technologies. They wanted to open up boundaries for women. And they wanted to ensure these women end up as well rounded professionals and people who are aware of their rights.”

The cab service is only a small part of Sakha’s operations.

“We have almost 50 women who’re working with many families, with individual women and women with children (as private chauffeurs),” says Janardhan.

Shanti Sharma started out as a chauffeur for a 50-year-old blind woman.

She liked the fact that the job involved helping a disabled woman move around safely and independently.

But she says she also enjoys the independence of driving a cab.

She is a single parent with three daughters. Their names are Suman, Simran and Shruti, she tells me with a proud smile.

Sharma says she makes around $250 a month in this job and that this is the first time in her life that she is earning enough to support her family.

“Ever since I started doing this job, I feel like I’ve reached my destination. I don’t want to change jobs anymore.”

But Sharma says being a woman cab driver is a lonely business, because she and the other female taxi drivers are completely outnumbered by male cabbies.

“When I park somewhere, there’re always men there and inevitably five or six of them get together and hang out,” she says. “But I’m usually the only woman in the parking lot, so I just stay inside the car. So then I wish that even one more woman driver would have been nice, to hang out with.”

It’s not much better when she is out on the road. Sharma says the male drivers give her a hard time.

“As soon as they see a girl at the wheel they start honking for no reason, they’ll try to overtake you. I’m always worrying about how to avoid getting hit by someone.”

Soon, I get to witness what she means. At one point, as she prepares to make a U-turn, a few cars back up behind us.

The driver of a government jeep right behind us starts honking persistently. It seems like the other drivers are staring at us — a woman driving a woman.

Sharma looks a little tense, but she laughs and shrugs it off.

“How can I turn if there are such heavy traffic in front? Tell me? I don’t know what to say.”

The only way to change the attitude of the men, she says is to have more women driving.

And perhaps, I think to myself — more women demanding to be safe, on the road and wherever they’re heading.

Thursday January 31, 2013, 12:19 pm

Great idea, too bad it can not offer more inexpensive service to women. No woman should be so intimated that she can not use public transport. That is a definite public safety issue.

Thursday January 31, 2013, 12:39 pm
good luck and carry on doing what you're enjoying! but yes, the safety aspect needs looking into more

Thursday January 31, 2013, 1:22 pm
You cannot currently send a star to Kit because you have done so within the last week.

Thursday January 31, 2013, 1:31 pm
Wish them the best, this should not even be happening: all transportation should be safe for women!!!!

Thursday January 31, 2013, 1:55 pm
Good idea,-why not earlier? We have had women cab drivers for deades and by now I assume there are nearly as many as male colleagues. But just curbing the evil without getting it by the root will not be sufficient.

Thursday January 31, 2013, 2:00 pm
You cannot currently send a star to Melania because you have done so within the last week.
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Thursday January 31, 2013, 5:15 pm
Great idea!

Thursday January 31, 2013, 5:34 pm
You cannot currently send a star to Petra because you have done so within the last week.

Thursday January 31, 2013, 9:52 pm
At least it's a good start.

Friday February 1, 2013, 5:13 am
Choices - nice

Friday February 1, 2013, 10:19 am
I hope they stay safe and do well .

Friday February 1, 2013, 3:32 pm
noted, thanks

Friday February 1, 2013, 4:07 pm
You're welcome Natalie

Sunday February 3, 2013, 5:40 pm
Nice to see there is this option, but makes one sad to think that women don't feel safe even in something that we consider to be safe on this side of the world.

Monday February 4, 2013, 12:10 am
There should be more of this kind of public transport worldwide. There is (or used to be) a Ladycab company in London but they were always fully booked so it was almost impossible to travel with them. Why aren't there more companies offering safe taxi services?

Monday February 4, 2013, 8:24 am
You cannot currently send a star to Catherine because you have done so within the last week.

Wednesday February 6, 2013, 12:20 pm
Great, thanks!

Wednesday February 6, 2013, 12:49 pm
You are welcome Sergio!