In most parts of India, men are tasked with prime responsibilities to run the family as they were considered as the sole breadwinners and you don’t often see many women going to offices as they are forced to sit at home and do household chores. On the contrary, men go to offices, stress a lot and work without seeing clock needles to earn wages either daily, weekly or on a monthly basis.
Women have very limited opportunities to study and were always inferior to men. They never really had the liberty to do what men were doing and hence they became homemakers. However, in the male-dominated society, some women are braving against all odds to become successful in life.
Pratiksha Das is only 24 years old and she became Mumbai’s first female bus driver
There is literally nothing that can stop women from exploring different fields in their career just like men. For so long, driving heavy four-wheelers like trucks and buses were meant only for men as it is a tiring job which demands patience to navigate between cities for the whole day or sometimes even more than that.
However, a 24-year-old girl by the name of Pratiksha Das proved it wrong by breaking stereotypes to become Mumbai’s first female bus driver. Now let’s take a moment to appreciate her. She is probably the only woman in the big city, who can shutter her way deftly on a BEST public bus.
As per a TOI report, the 24-year-old Das did her Bachelors in mechanical engineering from Thakur College in Malad.
Expressing her love for driving heavy vehicles she said, “It is something I’ve wanted to master for the last six years. But my love for heavy vehicles is not new. I started off with bikes, then larger cars and now, I can drive buses and trucks. And yes it feels good.”
Driving around a six-tonne heavy bus around the city gives her a great sense of accomplishment.
“After completing my engineering degree, I was planning to become an RTO officer. For that, I needed a license in heavy vehicles as it is compulsory. Since I had wanted to learn to drive a bus, it was perfect.”
“In fact, I want to drive various vehicles on the road. I started with my mama’s bike when I was in 8th grade in my village. Even he was surprised, how I learned driving within 2 days,” she said in her interview with Times Of India.
In a recent interview, Pratiksha spoke about her first training session with BEST drivers who doubted her skill. She spoke about people throwing infamous remarks like.’Yeh ladki Chala Paaygi Ke Nahi?’, to some mocking her height saying she was too short to drive a bus.
Talking about the challenges she faced in her life, she said, “People use to stop and turn when they saw a young woman behind the staring wheel. Keeping my focus clear, I ignored the stares.”
“I dreamt and here I am. In fact, anyone can achieve their goals, they just have to set their minds to it,” she said.
She is looking forward to ‘a bike trip to Ladakh‘, she said, “It’s every biker’s delight to ride that route. It’ a mixed group and guess what, a lady is going to lead the gang!”
23-year-old woman from Chattisgarh Village becomes a Mechanic
We will learn about the story of 23-year-old Satrupa Anant who became a successful woman entrepreneur in life. She is a local resident of Bhaandi village and since it was a frugal life, she made up her mind to become a two-wheeler mechanic in a bid to support her family. After gaining all the required skills and experience, she had opened a garage, where she also offers training to youth from neighbouring villages.
Her story is one that needs to be told to inspire several other women in the nation. She fulfilled her father-in-law’s dream after finishing her Class 12 from the Higher Secondary School in Bhaandi and then got married into a joint family where she was the elder daughter-in-law.
She says, “I had always wanted to contribute to the family income. As I lacked formal education, I could not take up a job – something that troubled me often and that I wanted to change about myself.”
She also felt that after getting married, it was also her prime responsibility to support her in-laws. “My father-in-law, who passed away after I got married, always wanted to open a garage but because of financial constraints, he could not do so. I decided to fulfil his dream by enrolling myself in the automobile course at Initiative for Livelihood Education and Development (iLEAD),” she says.
Mamata Sahu fought financial crisis to become Train Driver in India
Mamata Sahu of Narayanpur village under Baliapal block in Balasore district became an inspiration for many girls as she has become a Loco Pilot in South Eastern Railway, Kharagpur Division.
Coming from an economically backward section of the society, farmer’s daughter Mamata always dreamt of doing something extraordinary since her childhood stage. Despite her financial crisis, she secured 75% marks in Class 10 examination and then she got enrolled in Plus Science.
The determined Mamata went to Jharsuguda to pursue Diploma in Engineering. After finishing her course, she went to Chennai and worked in a private company with a meagre salary.
Mamata, who was not satisfied with the private job had continued her struggle and worked hard towards her dream. In 2013, success followed her around like a shadow as the young woman got an appointment from South Eastern Railway, Kharagpur Division for the post of Assistant Pilot.
But, she went through an ordeal as people started taunting and demotivating her for her ‘male-dominated’ job. But these things didn’t bring Mamata down as she continued working on her dream.
From Assistant Pilot of a freight train, she is now plying her trade as driving passenger train, helping lakhs of people reach their destinations.
In a competitive world where men are competing with gumption to achieve greater heights, women are also escalating themselves in their respective fields as well. The fact that women’s efforts go overlooked is such a sad thing to see nowadays. Let’s not forget about Mamata Sahu’s success story.
Mamata Sahu’s position would certainly inspire girls to dictate sharp and decisive moves to take the right step in their careers.
Meet Lt. Avani Chaturvedi – The First proud Indian woman to fly a Fighter Aircraft
People often get shocked when they first hear about the profession which allows you to fly sky high. They come up with rather a strange question like, ‘How come a profession lets you fly?’. Well, when you are determined to move upwards, nothing in the world can drag you down. With such a willing power, you are destined to become a pilot, ain’t you? The following story displays the journey of a determined woman, Avani Chaturvedi, who’s become India’s first lady pilot to hover a fighter jet. Nobody had thought that a woman would choose ‘aviation’ as her profession? Lt. Avani Chaturvedi’s story needs to be told to the whole country.
Avani Chaturvedi touched the sky with success as she will go down in history books for becoming the first Indian woman to fly a fighter aircraft solo. On 19 Feb 2018, she had the privilege to fly a MiG-21 Bison aircraft in her first solo flight, a dream come true moment for her.
“Chaturvedi became the first Indian woman to fly a fighter aircraft solo when she flew a MiG-21 bison in her first solo flight,” the official said, according to a PTI report. She has not only unlocked her achievement but has also inspired other women too. “It is a unique achievement for Indian Air Force and the country,” Air Commodore Prashant Dixit told ANI.
Avani Chaturvedi kick-started her career at the Indian Air Force base in Jamnagar, Gujarat on February 19, in a MiG-21 Bison aircraft. She joined the Indian Air Force fighter squadron on 18 June 2016 – backed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar – along with two other woman pilots, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh, the first ever batch to do so.
The 24-year-old Avani Chaturvedi comes from Rewa district in Madhya Pradesh. She completed her Bachelors in Technology from Banasthali University, Rajasthan in 2014, before she cracked the Indian Air Force exam and then she moved next step as she went on to train at the Hyderabad Air Force Academy in Dindigul.
Women were granted a green signal by the government to apply for the ‘Fighter Stream’ in October 2015. But they are still restricted from holding combat roles. The government points operational and logistical shortcomings for the same reason. As of now, the only countries that do have women fighter pilots are Britain, the United States and Israel.
Meet Noor Jahan- The woman who drives almost all vehicles
Women are trying their hand in almost every field. When opportunity knocks the door, they have always shown willingness to take the chances. We have seen them as teachers, doctors, software engineers, advocates but seeing in ‘Ola outfit’ is something very rare these days.
Noor Jehan has found a stable income by driving an Ola vehicle. She is now leading a satisfactory life. In the contemporary world, when only men are familiar with this profession, women are slowly catching up in this field as well.
Ola is a transportation network company operated in different cities in India. It has reached out to the majority of the people. People who are tech-savvy download ‘Ola’ app from Play store and book a cab in the nearby location for the purpose of reaching the destination. For best taxi-service at lowest fares, Ola says hello.
THE STORY:
Noor Jahan speaks on how her life attained a drastic change after she joined Ola as an auto driver. She grew up with male friends and watching them drive inspired her to learn the art of driving.
“Growing up, I had only male friends and watching them drive inspired me to learn. A part of me also wanted to show them that I could do everything they could. Eventually, my husband taught me how to drive,” 34-year-old Noor Jahan was quoted as saying by ‘Yourstory’.
Noor used to work for a private cab company earlier. But she was not really satisfied with the income she was getting. Also, the timings were not flexible as well. Due to this reason, it was difficult for her to spend time with her children.
Noor said, “I had to put up with an uncomfortable culture and discrimination from my male colleagues. I felt that it was a part and parcel of the job but, everything put together, I had had enough and decided to quit. Besides, I wanted to do so much more with my life that a rigid job would not permit.”
She came to know about Ola transportation services from a friend of hers who told her that the company had flexible work hours. After this, she intended to step into this field. She also learnt to drive autos, two-wheelers, cabs, minivans, and even buses.
She decided to offer her services with Ola Auto because of the fact that they are popular in Bengaluru. “Autos are very popular and in demand in Bengaluru and I felt that I would be able to earn well with Ola Auto,” she said.
She also runs her own driving school where she trains 25 students how to drive autos, bikes, and cars. “However, my friends and immediate family and the community have been very supportive.
In this respect, I feel like I am contributing to changing the mindset, and hopefully, more women will follow suit. I do not want my children to face the same difficulties that I did. I am therefore trying to set for them an example of a confident and independent woman,” she added.