MOWO in collaboration with WCD encourage women driving

Hyderabad: In an attempt to help women drive motor vehicles, the Women Development & Child Welfare Department (WCD), in collaboration with the Moving Women Social Initiative (MOWO), has launched the country’s first and exclusive motor training centre for women in Hyderabad.

Located on the premises of a skill and development training facility run by the WCD at Kukatpally, the track is well-equipped to teach women how to drive two- and three-wheelers, with plans to accommodate four-wheeler driving lessons soon.

“The reason we set up this track inside the skill development centre is that a lot of women come there to learn livelihood skills such as sewing, jute-bag making and others. Learning to drive motor vehicles is also a livelihood skill that will increase productivity. They can pick up raw material or sell their products easily,” Jai Bharathi, founder of MOWO, says.

Having access to motor vehicles and being trained to drive those opens up a wide range of job opportunities for women in various sectors. One can take up jobs as a delivery partner or bike taxi driver, which has conventionally been a male-dominated profession. Additionally, at the Motor Training Centre, women are also encouraged to become e-auto rickshaw drivers.

Apart from the actual driving lessons, traffic training sessions and digital inclusion programmes are also conducted. This makes women digitally literate, enabling them to take up jobs that require smartphone knowledge. “At our training centre, we make women road-ready and encourage them to pick up licences, making them eligible for jobs in various sectors, which in turn makes them financially independent,” says Jai Bharathi, adding that the facility is entirely run by women.

Another hurdle that women face when learning to drive is the lack of time due to domestic responsibilities. Keeping that in mind, the centre trains women in flexible batches between 10:30 am and 4 pm, and also has a separate weekend batch. For more information, contact MOWO at 91 89788 62299.