India’s Azad Foundation provides livelihoods with dignity for resource poor women living in urban areas in India. The Foundation is driven by the vision of a world where all women, in particular women from underprivileged backgrounds, enjoy full citizenship, earn with dignity and generate wealth and value. They are a professional feminist organisation working across religious and social divides to enable resource-poor women to empower themselves.

One of the Foundation’s key programmes is Women With Wheels, a programme that works with young women, mostly aged 18–35, living in slums and resettlement colonies. The programme is challenging social and cultural gender norms and paving new paths for women across India. Women With Wheels started in 2008 in Delhi and since then it has expanded to Jaipur, Kolkata and Chennai. Azad has supported other civil society organisations to implement Women With Wheels – Jan Vikas in Ahmedabad and SAMAAN in Indore amongst others. The programme provides technical, self-empowerment and self-development training to fully equip women to become self-sustaining professional drivers. Once qualified, the women drivers are transferred to Azad Foundation’s partner organisation Sakha Consulting Wings, who then provide employment opportunities in private chauffeur placements and Sakha Cabs by Women.

Most of the women in the programme are either out of work, or work in low-paid professions traditionally assigned to women. Many trainees have dropped out of formal education early, meaning their employment choices are limited. Many of these women have not been outside their neighbourhood and several live in abusive relationships.

The programme prepares and places women drivers as professional drivers, enabling socially excluded female members of society to move from the margins to the mainstream economy.

According to Meenu Vadera, Azad Foundation Founder and chief mentor, the programme has also helped alter public perceptions about women’s participation in the public transportation sector and the role and status of women in society.

“Our aim is to level the employment field for young women by providing career options that then enhance their economic status and decision making within their families,” says Meenu.

The learner centred training programme takes participants about six – eight months to complete and the team also assist the trainees to acquire citizenship documents and accident insurance, open a bank account and obtain a uniform and mobile phone. Women with very little means are also offered financial and other support.

The programme also includes training modules on women’s rights, protection from sexual harassment and violence, sexual and reproductive health and the Foundation facilitates a network of women drivers so they can support and learn from each other. Access is provided to counsellors to ensure women are accompanied throughout their journey and have somewhere to turn to if facing domestic violence.

Over the past 14 years Women With Wheels has enabled more than 4000 women to gain a professional qualification as a chauffeur.

More than 2500 women trained by the Azad Foundation are currently working as professional drivers and generating their own income.

Azad Foundation and partner Sakha Wings Consulting have placed their first women bus drivers with Delhi Transport Corporation. In 2021, after successfully advocating with the Delhi Government to modify rules for engaging women as public bus drivers, Azad has now 35+ alumni working as public bus drivers for the first time in the history of Delhi.

More than 5000 women have benefitted from training in women’s rights, self-defence, sexual and reproductive health, English speaking, effective communications, first aid, grooming, and map reading and learning key roads and routes. The content and pedagogy have helped them to empower themselves and achieve personal transformation.