The City of Hyderabad in India is blessed with rich tradition, culture and heritage but the South City areas of the city – also known as the Old City- had an orthodox practice of women and girls not riding two wheeler even till the late 1990s while they could drive in other parts of the city without any hesitation.
Some women and girls living in the South City but working or studying in other parts of the city would park their vehicles for the night at City Central Library or Osmania Hospital, located on the edge of the South City. They would travel from their homes to these parking places in buses or auto rickshaws, pick up their vehicles and drive away to work or study and in the evening keep their vehicles in parking lots and board a bus or an auto rickshaw to get back home.
In 1996 COVA Peace Network, a national network of voluntary organization working for communal harmony and community empowerment in India and peace in South Asia had taken up a program with the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad to work on issues of health and empowerment of women that required an outreach to over 60 slums that were located in far flung areas with sparse public transport. Five women program officers were appointed but they were facing great difficulties in reaching the localities on foot, or with the little public transport available. This resulted in wasting a lot of time, money and energy. Some of them were even thinking of leaving their job.
After a lot of brain storming in the organization, Qamar, Geeta Devi, Rafia, Rehana and Indira- all program officers took the bold decision to start using two wheeler! Though none owned a vehicle or knew how to ride, they learned driving from their family members and COVA helped them in purchasing their own scooters.And behold one fine morning they took off from the historic Charminar- the symbol of Hyderabad – as trailblazers that subsequently enabled scores of girls and women to take over the roads of the South City like never before!
They faced problems initially with people on the roads passing comments or some even looking shocked. But they continued undeterred and within a few months the comments and the stares stopped and what really started in a big way and continues to grow by the day is women and girls in large numbers taking to the roads of South City on their two wheeler with elan!!
