Nineteen-year-old Jyoti Solanki is tiny for her age, barely five feet and a whisper.

But on her slim shoulders, or rather on the hatchback she deftly maneuvers through Delhi’s lanes, sits a novel opportunity. Solanki is among the 30 women who will drive cabs during the Commonwealth Games next October.

At the moment, she earns Rs 4500 as a driver for the Azad Foundation, which trains women from underprivileged backgrounds to find employment as drivers.

Newsline took a short ride in Solanki’s Hyundai Santro recently. As she expertly drove the car through the densely populated Kalkaji neighbourhood, Solanki said the job has given her a dignified living. “Yet, there is a certain bias we still have to deal with. Before working as a driver with the Azad foundation, I worked for another family. They trusted my ability to drive, but when it came to technical stuff like changing tyres or checking the engine, they just assumed I was not capable,” she said.

Azad Foundation, which is on the core transport committee of the Confederation of India Industries (CII) — that is aiming to get the Capital’s transport needs in place by 2010 — is working overtime to ensure these women are ready for the Games. “Our first batch of trained women drivers applied for their permanent licences in February. The waiting period for a commercial licence — which is necessary for cab drivers — is one year from the date of acquiring a permanent licence. Our second batch of cab drivers will be ready to apply for a commercial licence by June-July 2010,” explained Meenu Vadhera, Secretary, Azad Foundation.

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