J&K’s first woman e-rickshaw driver is mother of 3 children

Women are making a mark for themselves in every sphere and now a housewife in Jammu goes on to break the gender stereotype by becoming the first one from her gender to drive an e-rickshaw in the Union Territory.

This woman driver is a 40-year-old Seema Devi, a mother, who has been driving the e-rickshaw in Nagrota and its adjoining areas for the past four months. She has one son who is 15 years old and two daughters, 14 and 12 years respectively.

Sharing with the media the reason for becoming a driver she said: “I took up this job because my husband’s earnings were not enough. There is a lot of inflation and I wanted to support my husband so that we can provide a decent living to our family and better education to our kids.”

Unable to find a suitable employment for helping her husband, she decided to opt to drive an e-rickshaw. She informed that she took a loan of Rs.30,000 to purchase the vehicle and is now paying Rs.3,000 as monthly instalment. “My husband taught me how to drive the e-rickshaw and I learnt it quickly,” she said. She added that her husband was very supportive and encouraging.

She feels that when women can fly planes and be loco pilots then why can’t they be e-rickshaw drivers. Being a woman gives her an added advantage as women feel safe in her rickshaw and many use it to ferry their daughters to and from school.