INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A burqa-clad woman steering an autorickshaw through a chock-a-block Hyderabad street offers a vibrant glimpse into the shifting strands of
patriarchy built around the ubiquitous three-wheeler, where women are relegated to the passenger seat
Arshya Fatima, 35, who was dumped by her husband for giving birth to three daughters, is a picture of untrammelled womanhood as she takes
her seat, turns the ignition of her electric auto and zips away into the busy traffic
The burden of teen pregnancy and domestic violence left me scarred
Now, I earn enough to pay school fees of my daughters and lead a life of dignity
Fatima was a cloth saleswoman and earned a pittance, before she heard about the ETO autos at the Moghulpura charging hub and that proved to
While Sahiba, 30, and Ruksana Begum, 40, became widows early in life and were forced to do odd jobs to raise their family, others were
castaways of broken families or deserted by their husbands
Born in a Banjara family in Adilabad, she wallowed in poverty before charting her flight to glory.Nafeesa Khatoon, 25, a resident of Sultan
Nafeesa, however, finished her training at the Kacheguda ETO and is unshackling norms to be financially independent
Three other feisty women in the fleet, Ruksana Begum, Shanthi and Naseem Khatoon, discover a certain legitimacy and power in their unbridled
mobility as they ferry commuters to Hi-Tech City, Tolichowki and Banjara and Jubilee Hills
While Naseem, 32, has been driving for over a fortnight after completing her training on Darassalam grounds, Ruksana, 40, travels from Lower
Tank Bund to Miyapur, where she earns more
has been a steep, treacherous climb
She worked as a maid, washing dishes and mopping floors in hospitals, after her husband died, till the humbleauto pulled her out of the
story after her husband abandoned her for giving birth to a girl
So are Manga, 38, of Malkajgiri and B Anita, 30, of Kacheguda, who want to be role models for women, who seek to break the shackles and
drive towards self-reliance.But none of these powerpuff girls can do without Gorenkella Meena, 41, the fulcrum of the fleet and their SOS
swift to dispatch a maintenance team if any driver is stuck or stranded
Meena always wears a smile on her face, despite having a bed-ridden husband, critical domestic issues and mounting debts.Captain Azmeera
of being a Lambadi at school
A TedX speaker, Azmeera is breaking taboo, unshackling women to rise like a phoenix, the way she did at her remote hamlet.
