Meet burqa-clad Ola driver Rizwana Shaikh

Mumbai: 30-year-old, Rizwana Shaikh, is a stay-at-home mum by day and Ola driver by night. Rizwana grew up in Lucknow but moved to Mumbai after her marriage to a Jogeshwari businessman. Today women have entered the male bastion and have started driving taxis and autos. With GPS tracking their every move, there are no security concerns for them. She claims in the eight months she has been on the roads at night seldom has she come across any trouble-maker. However she refuses to go ahead with the ride, when drunken men book the cab. Rizwana who was earlier a beautician find this a more lucrative profession. TOI has quoted her saying, “People find it tough to believe it when I call them up and ask for directions or when they see me in the driver’s seat.” Rizwana has a seven-year-old kid and she earns a monthly income between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000. She says her husband and family have been very supportive and understand this job is necessary to meet household expenses. Another woman Mehjabeen, 42, also a Jogeshwari resident, is a night-shift veteran. She has been a driver for six years now. Ola as well as Uber have agreed that the trend of women on driving seat is on the rise.