Breaking Stigma with Sustainability
Sumanben’s story about how she used her E-rickshaw as a de-facto police mobile (when one wasn’t available) to assist a police constable in transporting a criminal from a public spot to a police station can leave anyone speechless. She is an inspiration to many women who want to make their own living on their own terms and are not scared to take a stand for themselves and for others.
SEWA Bharat
SEWA Bharat is a federation of women-led institutions providing economic and social support to women in the informal sector. They support the formation of member-based associations of poor working women and help them achieve their goals of employment and self-reliance.
In one of their programs, the Vahini initiative, the SEWA Jahangirpuri team mobilised women to earn livelihoods by ride-hailing of E-rickshaws.
About the SEWA Bharat’s Vahini programme
As a part of the SEWA Bharat’s Vahini programme, Sumanben, along with six other vahinis (women e-rickshaw drivers), was provided assistance in buying e-rickshaws with help of a loan provided by a SEWA Bharat supported cooperative society, the Delhi Credit Cooperative. Another external organization, SMV Green Solutions also helped vahinis in getting the E-Rickshaw registration done, applying for learning licenses and giving an interest-free loan as a downpayment for the underlying loan.
Sumanben’s ordeal
Sumanben bought her first asset — an E-rickshaw with the determination to take on life in her hands by paying small instalments every month as EMI. Her only source of income was cut off when the Covid-19 induced lockdown began in 2020. She was then saddled with a massive debt and four small daughters to feed. When her problems were exacerbated by domestic violence at home, she became dejected.
She fled her home along with her four children. The following weeks were spent in frequent negotiations with the RTO (to get her registration papers) and with the parking lords who were in charge of all e-rickshaw parking in Delhi.
She began to lose hope after a month of battle. For weeks, her children were not able to eat or get proper nutrition — they just survived on chapatis without any milk or vegetables.
She was able to get back on her feet with the help of the community she had formed at SEWA. She went to the RTO on a daily basis until she received her registration papers.
She is back on the roads of Jahangirpuri now, in accordance with social distancing rules, and is eking out a living for herself and her family.
Stigma related to the job
Since all vahinis do not have permanent licenses due to the constraints in the accessibility of its process during the pandemic, police personnel often fined them with Challans. The vahinis claimed that some police personnel fined only those drivers who did not pay them protection money.
Although many people praise and motivate vahinis to do what they do for their living, some male EV rickshaw drivers criticize and verbally abuse them out of malice. They also take their rides by jumping into queues in informal rickshaw stands.
Although many vahinis’ family members supported their decision to earn income by sustainable ride-hailing, there were many who had patriarchal prejudices about the profession itself. Many vahinis proved them wrong not only by doing the job phenomenally and earning income but also by helping society as a whole. They not only assisted police in catching criminals, but they also protected female passengers from possible kidnapping by educating them about the trap of cab drivers’ low-quoted fares.
Stability in Income
Currently, the vahinis provide ride-hailing to the on-the-fly demand of passengers who want to commute from point A to B at locations in and around Jahangirpuri.
The YLAC Delhi’s mobility champions, in association with CEED, were able to identify RWAs (Resident Welfare Associations) for potential fixed-income contractual arrangements with people (particularly women passengers) who require safe ride-hailing on a regular basis in Jahangirpuri. The largest addressable market for vahinis for these fixed income opportunities are women who commute to work, school, or coaching centres on a regular basis.
SEWA Bharat plans to expand the Vahini programme in the near future, based on the lessons learned from the smaller cohort, in order to assist more women to break the stigma and find sustainable livelihoods and income through partnerships with individuals, corporations, and educational institutions. It is also reassuring that this program aims to achieve all this sustainably using electric mobility.
