Pain of Pink: What it means to be a woman auto driver in Mumbai

After her husband contracted Covid last year Susheela Prajapati learnt to drive his auto to support their four children and her motherinlaw She soon found that negotiating Mumbairsquos bylanes and traffic was just one part of the job The tougher challenge was facing harassment by male auto drivers and unruly passengers Susheelarsquos story is endemic across the suburbs where hundreds of women earn a living by driving autos draped in pinkNamrata Panditrsquos husband works as a ward boyOver the years pink autos have become a common sight Mumbai suburbs where autos ply have around 1000 permits issued to women though not all of them are in use midday spoke to a handful of these gutsy women who continue to do their work with their heads held high despite daily insults and abuses Many times their complaints to cops go unnoticed they saidSusheela Prajapati 37The Ghatkopar resident became an auto driver out of compulsion ldquoMy husband contracted Covid and we had no income I have four kids and a motherinlaw to look after But when I started working I came across bizarre behaviour of male auto driversrdquo Susheela who leaves home at 8 amSusheela Prajapati with her husband PicRajesh GuptaSusheela said the maledominated auto stands are forbidden for rickshawallis like her ldquoThey male drivers ask membership fees from me I canrsquot afford R2000030000 that too for just one stand So I pick up passengers on the go When they found out I was trying different ways to do business they started abusing me They cast aspersions on my character in front of my husbandrdquo she saidAfter facing harassment for more than 6 months she went to the Ghatkopar police station and filed a noncognisable offence complaint against a few auto drivers ldquoThings improved for a couple of days as cops came to the stand but everything was back to square one Even today no woman can go to some stands as they are the monopoly of men I donrsquot know when things will changerdquo she addedSharmila Mhaparle 34ldquoMany times people wave to stop the auto but when they see a woman driver they simply refuse to board In fact many women also make fun of usrdquo said Sharmila Mhaparle who lives in Pratiksha Nagar Sion with her husband a driver and their 13yearold sonShe said she took up auto driving to support her family ldquoItrsquos an unwritten rule that women drivers are not allowed in the queue at auto stands Even if I follow the queue the male drivers jump the line blocking my turnrdquo said SharmilaPassenger behaviour is loathsome at times ldquoWe understand the taunts and meaning of giggling but I donrsquot pay attention to it My aim is to get some money to support my family these things donrsquot bother me anymorerdquo said Sharmila who wakes up at 5 am makes breakfast and lunch for the family and leaves at 8 am She returns after spending 810 hours on the road ldquoWe donrsquot expect any special treatment from male drivers or passengers we just want them to treat us as humansrdquoSadhna Yadav 33A resident of Titwala Sadhna Yadav travels 40 km daily to reach Mulund where she parks her auto She ferries passengers for more than 10 hours ldquoAs I live far I have to make sure I get passengers around the eastern suburb so that I donrsquot have to spend more while returning empty I prefer to ply at Mulund Vikhroli and Ghatkopar but itrsquos not an easy taskrdquo said SadhnaLike Susheela and Sharmeela Sadhna also wonders why male drivers their female peers ldquoItrsquos been 2 years I am driving an auto but I fail to understand why there is so much contempt they have for us We women auto drivers are also earning for our families like themrdquoSadhna lives with her husband two daughters and a son ldquoMy husband runs the auto at night and I take over in the morning Many times we have an altercation with cops over parking or while waiting for passengers While most cops behave like brothers some use foul languagerdquo she saidAlka Jadhav 33Alka from Kherwadi starts at 9 am plying in and around Bandra ldquoI start my day from Guru Nanak Hospital auto stand Most of the time there is no harassment as such for me but many women drivers come to this stand to feel saferdquo she saidAlka Jadhav with her auto at Bandra on Tuesday PicShadab KhanBut there are other challenges ldquoWomen drivers donrsquot have restrooms not even loos Unlike men we just canrsquot stop the auto to answer naturersquos calls I am facing urinary tract infections Now I have to take a 3hour break every afternoon Many women drivers face this problem There is a dire need to do something to help usrdquo she addedManjula Sawant 40Manjula Sawant has been driving an autorickshaw for the last 3 years after her husband Prashant got severe back pain due to driving Manjula a mother of two kids said she has been abused multiple times by male auto drivers at stands in these yearsldquoOur income suddenly stopped three years ago I had to find a way to pay for my childrenrsquos school fees and other expenses I told Prashant that I would drive the auto He said it wasnrsquot safe for women as one may encounter drunk passengers For the sake of my family I started driving the auto Most passengers are nice Many have given me chocolates water bottles and extra moneyrdquoHowever Manjula said male auto drivers make life difficult ldquoDespite me following the queue the male drivers break it Many of them have abused me I complained to the union and it stopped for a while Itrsquos too difficult to get into a fight with other auto drivers as we both are in the same fieldrdquoNamrata Pandit 35Namrata Pandit plies at Malad Kandivali Borivali and a few areas of Thane Her husband works as a ward boy and her fatherinlaw recently underwent a bypass She said she faces a lot of problems at Bhandup ldquoAt Kandivali Borivali and Malad auto drivers are good but I avoid going to Bhandup I have called the police on many occasions but they never helped me They always listen to the union leader and other auto drivers One really feels alone at such timesrdquo said Namrata who has been driving an auto for the past two yearsLata Tambe 40Kurla resident Lata Tambe said her husband is mentally challenged and she is the breadwinner of her family She has been driving an auto for the past two yearsldquoMany male auto drivers have tried to stop me from taking my auto to the stand I give it back to them We have equal rights My family depends on me and nobody can stop me from driving an autordquo she saidRajani Jadhav 25Mulund resident Rajani Jadhav has been an auto driver since 2014 She has had several runins with male drivers ldquoEarlier I used to sell vegetables When I started driving an auto at Mulund East not a single male driver supported meMulund resident Rajani Jadhav has been driving an auto since 2014 PicsRajesh GuptaIn 2015 I had a fight with 3 auto drivers and they even plotted an attack on me A truck hit our auto when my mother and I were going to a temple I still have a rod in my bodyrdquo Rajani alleged that the Navghar police refused to register an FIR ldquoThe harassment has reduced a bit nowrdquoMale driverrsquos mindset must change Union leaderAuto union leader Shashank Rao said ldquoIf you look at this profession itrsquos not a dignified job So when it comes to women drivers they face challenges on multiple fronts Driving is considered a maledominant job and for years women are trying to break this myth We are trying our level best to get them on an equal footingrdquoRao added ldquoWe do come across grievances of women drivers and we definitely resolve them but the psyche of male drivers needs to change Itrsquos also the duty of the government to give auto and taxi drivers some dignity through welfare schemes and facilitiesrdquo