A mother of three from Charminar, a homemaker until 10 months ago, has taken to plying autorickshaws in the bustling streets of the Old City after being trained by the Moving Women (MOWO) Social Initiative.
Naseem is among the 3,500+ women who have been trained on two and three electric vehicles over the last five years since the inception of the not-for-profit organisation.
Now, Naseem will lead a rally of eight women riding electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers who arrived in Hyderabad after a 1,220-kilometre drive from Kanyakumari on their way to Jammu. The 3,333-kilometre rally, starting from Kanyakumari via Madurai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Indore, Chennai, and Delhi, will reach Jammu by the end of March.
Moving Women (MOWO) Social Initiative, a Hyderabad-based not-for-profit organisation, is conducting a pan-India women-led electric vehicle rally to mark its fifth year of operations.
“About 10 months ago, I met the MOWO team in Darrusalam. They were training women to drive two and three-wheelers. That was the turning point of my life. I finished training and started driving an electric auto in Charminar between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. I make about ₹40,000 a month and am able to support my family,” said Naseem
Naseem’s husband is a tutor, and their kids are students. When asked about the societal reaction, she said, “Though I faced criticism from relatives, my life partner’s support was all I needed.”
Prabhavati, 36, who is now a seasoned auto driver after driving for over two decades, has trained over 150 women auto drivers over the last 18-odd months.
‘’Initially, my husband was hesitant because the auto drivers’ community was largely male-dominated. That was the case 20 years ago. Change begins at home. I became an auto driver, and now I am helping more women take up this profession through training and support,” Prabhavati said.
The MOWO Social Initiatives is set to train another 500 women across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Delhi.
“We have already started receiving registrations. We have about 50 women from Karnataka, another 50 from Kurnool, while another 100 will join from Hyderabad,” Jai Bharathi, Founder of MOWO Social Initiatives, told The Hindu.
Focus on livelihood this year
So far, about 10% of the women trained by MOWO are engaged in livelihood avenues. The organisation aims to increase this number this year. About 150 women are working with logistics players like BlueDart, while some have pursued careers as auto drivers. “We want to focus more on livelihood. We will be training these women on electric autos so they can make a living from it,” Ms. Bharathi said.
The organisation also partners with eCommerce and private two-wheeler and three-wheeler taxi aggregators to help trained women drivers and riders find suitable employment based on their schedules. “The issue with on-demand service applications is usually that the timings don’t work for women. This is why we take a personalised approach to mapping women with jobs that work for them,” Ms Bharathi explained.
MOWO has partnered with ETO Motors, an electric three-wheeler maker, for training. It has also partnered with the Small and Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
“Through SIDBI, we will ensure that women can own these autos at subsidised prices and also get cheaper loan rates,” Ms Bharathi explained.
Naseem drives the auto she received from ETO Motors in Darussalam after her training.
Talking about future plans, Ms Bharathi revealed that the organisation is in the process of setting up a subscription-based electric two—and three-wheeler taxi service. This will be similar to the women’s taxi service available at the major Indian airports but will not be restricted to women, she explained.
