By Diksha Sinha
What really happens when there are more women in public spaces? Gulesh Chauhan, the first woman Uber driver, answered this question very well at the YKA Summit 2019.
Women can drive too and this is nothing to be surprised about. Gulesh began her talk by recounting an incident where a father, unable to find a cab to Amity University for his daughter, trusted her, and in turn, she helped the girl reach safely and on time. The father was relieved that there was someone with his daughter, and this reinstated Gulesh’s faith in the profession she had chosen.
“You take one step forward, society will help you in taking more,” she says. Her journey of breaking gender barriers was not an easy one. Coming from a traditional Rajput family in Rajasthan, Gulesh is a single mother, who learned to drive after her husband’s death to sustain herself, and her son, after this family crisis.
Many people look at a woman driver, and the first thing that comes to their minds is that she might be a bad driver. Braving all these mindsets, Gulesh has stood up as a shining example for all the women drivers in our country.
Talking about her driving experience, she said
“It’s not that every person you meet is bad. I come across a lot of nice people, who have indeed given me strength. With a woman driver, even other women travelling solo will feel safe.”
In her conclusive statement, she thanked her mother and son for being her support system. Despite the curve balls life threw her way, she is navigating her journey as a woman driver in Delhi-NCR for the last four years and how!
“Only when mindsets change, will India change,” with this she ends her talk.