While the growth of a country is dependent on its economy, the real way to measure its achievement is to find out how successful its women are. In the past few decades, India has seen a rise in the number of women ruling different sectors like the IT industry, Banking, Medicine, Real estate, Textiles, etc. But while clapping for them, we can’t overlook the contribution of women from the less privileged sectors or the blue-collar workers.

These women are making India a safer place for fellow beings, irrespective of their caste, creed, gender and social background. We spoke to a few of them to understand how they are helping the nation.

Road less travelled
There is a widespread belief that women cannot drive. Of course, women have proved it wrong. Still, one sees women riding a bicycle, two-wheeler or driving a four-wheeler but rarely a three-wheeler. Breaking this stereotype, there are women who have opted for a career as a rickshaw driver. We caught up with two Pune-based women -- Manisha Shinde (40) and Neeta Moghe (39) -- who have chosen this offbeat career.

“I’ve always been a homemaker with two kids. Since my kids are now able to take care of themselves, I wanted to work without compromising my family time. Any 9-5 work wouldn’t have given me enough time to take care of both, my professional and personal life. So, I chose to become an auto driver,” says Shinde whose husband is also an auto driver.

On the other hand, Moghe had been a working professional (in the administration department). Due to lack of family time, she thought of changing her career, and hence, she opted for driving a rickshaw. 
Both the women are highly proud and happy with their profession. Unlike fellow drivers, they continuously drive and aim to get as many passengers as possible.

“I usually take kids, young women and girls, elderly people and patients as passengers. I consider it my responsibility to help them,” Shinde says. Sharing her initial experiences, she says that fellow drivers would taunt her and passengers would think of her as a ‘poor woman’. However, her family’s support kept her going.
 
“For me, women’s safety is a priority. I don’t mind getting late by 15-20 minutes to reach my home, but I always make it a point to drop my women passengers at their desired location,” says the courageous woman.

Moghe, had similar experiences when she took to the road to drive. However, without minding criticism, she continued with her choice. An Uber driver, she says, “I get both men and women passengers. I’ve never come across any passenger who has shown disrespect for me or my profession. Instead, they appreciate it.” 

Both drivers are happily driving in the city. However, they strongly believe that we have to get rid of old mindsets. Unless people experience and encounter women auto drivers, it is hard to change the same.

A clean heart
Vimal Vijay Thosar (51), is working with Pune Municipal Corporation as sanitary worker for the past 30 years. Unlike many people, she is quite satisfied with her work. “I don’t find any problem with working as a sweeper. We work as a group. Whenever there’s a shortage of employees, my husband helps me out. He sweeps, I put the garbage in the sack and we complete the task,” she tells.

When asked about the citizens’ contribution in keeping the city clean, she says that people are least considerate about their garbage. “The government has done a lot of promotion on garbage segregation, urging people to separate wet and dry garbage, avoid throwing garbage and spitting on roads. If everyone becomes responsible for their waste, there wouldn’t be any need for others to work for it,” Thosar says.

She points out that they do not work for money, but for the country. “It is okay to struggle a bit to make our country waste-free. I feel wonderful seeing clean roads and want everyone to feel the same. Hygiene should be of utmost importance,” says Thosar, and concludes that these small steps help in taking the nation forward.

The woman and the machine
Not every girl likes to play with dolls, some love to drive as well. Pooja Bhandari, now 31, is one such woman. She belongs to an agricultural family where her will to learn driving was never turned down. Bhandari can ride a bicycle, two-wheeler and four-wheeler, and a tractor too.

“When my father fell sick, I chose to drive the tractor. He taught me. It’s been four years since I’m driving it,” tells Bhandari. In agriculture, women have an equal contribution in the farm work. However, when it comes to handling machinery, no one considers them. Bhandari however, broke all the barriers.

“Though tractor driving is something that men do, I was never criticised by people around me. Rather, they are proud of me,” Bhandari says. 

She says that it is good that people are holding discussions on gender equality. “Many people have told me that I do not need a man as a support system,” Bhandari says, adding, “I never encountered people who tried to put me down but that does not mean that such people do not exist. It is high time we understood that we are more powerful than we think,” she concludes.

Healthy women, healthy nation
Sunita Valmike (52) is a toilet assistant at ‘ti toilet’, Sambhaji Park. The toilet is meant for women and very young boys. Women’s education was never a priority when Valmike was young. Hence, she stayed uneducated. But as it is very difficult to run a home with one person’s income, she started working as a housekeeper at a call centre to support her husband. Later, she got the opportunity to work at the ti toilet. 

“I’m working here for the past four years. I feel very comfortable in this profession. I feel I’m helping women from different professions like a police officer, school/ college going girls/ IT professionals, and others to lead a healthy life,” she says.

Women who use the toilet praise the initiative and her work as well. Valmike says that she is proud of her profession. Helping other women is what motivates her the most. “I know the importance of my profession. It is not for me, but for you and the nation. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. For me, keeping my country clean and healthy is what matters the most,” she says with pride.