When her husband and mother-in-law died during the Covid-19 pandemic, 45-year-old Jyoti Sonawale found herself facing a future she had never imagined. Living in Nigdi with three daughters to raise, she had to find a way to keep the household running and provide for her children. With little financial support, securing a stable source of income became her biggest challenge.
Originally from Barshi taluka in Solapur district, she lost her husband, who worked as a field officer, four years ago. It was around this time that she learnt about an opportunity to train as a professional driver. earning a living behind the wheel remained relatively uncommon While driving was something many women learnt as a personal skill. Jyoti decided to take the chance. After completing her training, she began transporting patients to hospitals and other destinations across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The work eventually opened up more opportunities. “After my husband’s death during the Covid pandemic, the responsibility of raising my three daughters and running the household fell entirely on me. I tried different small jobs, but finding a stable source of income was difficult. When I learnt about professional driving training, I decided to give it a try. This work has given me financial stability, confidence and the strength to live with dignity. I can now support my daughters’ education and take care of my family’s needs. My daughters proudly tell people, ‘Our mother is a professional driver. For Sulochana, who lives in Manjari, the road to financial independence was equally difficult. Following his death, she was forced to leave her marital home with her three daughters. With limited support from her parental family, she took up domestic work, washing clothes, cleaning homes and cooking to make ends meet. After doing this for nearly two years, she decided to pursue something she had long wanted to do — learn to drive. Her desire to drive dated back to the time when her husband was alive, but he had never supported the idea. However, learning to drive was only the first hurdle. Finding employment as a woman driver was another challenge. Through a contact, she learnt about opportunities for women from marginalised communities and eventually secured a job transporting employees of a multinational company in the Viman Nagar-Kharadi area. “For the past three years, I have been working in the transport sector. The workday does not end with one shift. The journeys of Jyoti and Sulochana are among several emerging from Pune, where women from nomadic and denotified tribes, Scheduled Castes and minority communities are entering professional driving. Behind these individual stories is an effort to make driving a viable livelihood for women from marginalised communities, helping them move beyond occupations traditionally available to them. “I was inspired by the work being done by Basera in Rajasthan, where women are encouraged to take up professional driving, and some have even gone abroad for work. Some have also moved on to driving heavy vehicles. Ten women have completed heavy motor vehicle training covering trucks, buses, lorries, and dumpers and obtained the necessary licences. The potential earnings are another incentive. Alongside driving lessons, the initiative also focuses on communication skills, English-speaking abilities, digital literacy, road safety and personality development. Learning to use Google Maps, preparing for interviews and completing documentation required for professional driving are also part of the training. For these women, the transformation extends beyond their monthly earnings. Being able to pay for their children’s education, meet household expenses and make financial decisions independently has given them a greater say in their lives.
In 2022-23, she finally enrolled in a driving school and learnt to drive within three months. After transporting employees between 8 am and 3 pm, I head to Pune airport for another shift, often working until 11 pm or midnight,” said Sulochana. Over the past three to four years, the initiative has trained around 100 women to drive four-wheelers, nearly 75 of whom are now working as professional drivers. Women employed in the sector earn between ₹ 25,000 and ₹ 30,000 a month on average, with some earning as much as ₹ 50,000, depending on their assignments. Women who earn between ₹ 25,000 and ₹ 50,000 a month locally could potentially earn between ₹ 1.5 lakh and ₹ 2 lakh abroad, Bhandwalkar says.
Seeing that pride in their eyes makes everything worthwhile,” she said. Vaishali Bhandwalkar, who leads the training and employment initiative, says the idea was to open up livelihood opportunities beyond the occupations to which these women were usually confined. I felt that women in Pune should also have access to similar opportunities,” she said. Bhandwalkar says the initiative has now begun preparing women for opportunities beyond India. “We are preparing them for opportunities in Europe by helping them with basic English communication, interviews, documentation and visa-related requirements,” she says.
Today, she provides transport services to employees of IT companies in Hinjewadi. Today, I have been working as a professional driver for the past three years.
