People's Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
No. 29
July 21, 2013
|
Vol. XXXVII
No. 29 July 21, 2013 |
Arun
Kumar Mishra IT was a rare
occasion for Bihar when 15 women and
young girls were loaned auto-rickshaws by the newly
inaugurated all-women branch
of the Bank of Baroda at Yet, in the last two
and a half months, the Patna
Zilla Auto Chalak Union created history by encouraging
women and girls of poor
economic background to learn driving and earn their
livelihood with dignity. Leaders of the Patna
Zilla Auto Chalak Union got this
idea from Kannur in Kerala during the all-India conference
of the Centre of
Indian Trade Unions (CITU) held in the month of April this
year. They
interacted with the women auto-drivers of Kannur who
narrated their experiences
and explained how the leadership of the district CITU
helped them join this
male dominated profession. What impressed these leaders
most was the
determination and self-confidence writ large on the faces
of these women of
Kannur to excel in the job and make space for themselves.
Back home, however,
it was not an easy job to attract
women and girls to a profession where male counterparts
are abusive, alcoholic
and afflicted with other human weaknesses. But the
leadership of the union was
determined to replicate the experiences gathered from
Kannur, and they
announced through newspapers that women and girls would be
given lessons of
driving every Sunday free of cost and that whoever wanted
to join it was
welcomed. Initially, some social activists helped the Auto
Chalak Union to mobilise
girls and even housewives. Later on, girls and women of
different localities of
In the last two
months, thus, 25 women and girls
learned driving and got their driving licenses. During
these months they were
also imparted karate training for self-defence by Neha
Kumari, daughter of
Naveen Mishra. She, along with Raj Kumar Jha, Chunnu
Singh, Bijli Prasad and
others, put the idea into practice and brought laurels to
the organisation.
Helped and guided by the organisation, Naveen Mishra
played the key role in
imparting driving lessons by roping in Messrs Magadh
Transport which provided
auto-rickshaws with fuels and other logistics. The union then met
the state transport minister and
requested him to make the provision for issuing licenses
to women drivers in
the shortest possible time and provide subsidy for the
auto-loan to be provided
by the bank. The minister responded positively to the
suggestions. He announced
that licenses would be given without any fee to the women
and girl drivers and that
they would also be given subsidy of Rs 15,000 each against
the loan provided by
the bank. Though the learning licenses have been provided
without fee, the
disbursal of subsidy amounts is still to take place. The union has taken
adequate steps to ensure safety of
the women drivers. They will be plying their autos from
Patna Junction to airport
and pick up general passengers from the junction after the
antecedents of each
one of the passengers is checked. The women drivers will
stop ferrying
passengers by the evening. The initiative of
the union got wide publicity in the
print and electronic media, and they lauded the role of
Patna Zilla Auto Chalak
Union which has breathed a fresh air in the otherwise
stifling social
atmosphere. It will go a long way in creating an equal
space for men and women,
demolish the wall of separation and create a new society. Keeping in mind its
goal, the union has already taken
steps to talk to the women and girls regarding the society
in which they live
and where women are treated like second class citizens.
Patriarchy has denied
them the basic human rights and there is a constant need
to fight against the
patriarchy and the neo-liberal policies, for which they
will have to come
forward and join the democratic movement. The
