WATCH | Sushma Midde’s Struggle and Success as a Cab Driver - video Dailymotion

OutlookIndia

Sushma Midde, 38, lives in Belur. In the environment where she was raised, people believed that girls are meant to spend their lives cooking, so there was no need for them to study. However, her mother wanted her to get an education, and so, Sushma managed to pass class ten.  Her father was a farmer who worked on others’ land, and her husband worked in a jute mill. One day, a close acquaintance inspired her to learn driving. After much struggle, she got a commercial driving license. Initially, the authorities refused to issue it to her just because she was a woman.  She took a loan and bought a car, registering herself on an app-based cab service. At the start, she faced several rejections from customers who refused to board a cab driven by a woman. Later, the app-based cab service started calling customers after receiving bookings, requesting them to trust her as a driver and vouching for her skills. Gradually, people started accepting her, and her hard work paid off.  Sushma still faces challenges at work. People often tell her to go home and cook instead of driving. Bus and truck drivers deliberately try to intimidate her on the road, but she stays calm behind the wheel. She encourages all women to take charge of their lives and lead independent lives.  Reporter & Camera: Sandipan Chatterjee Producer: Divya Tiwari Editor: Ehraz Zaman  Follow us: Website: https://www.outlookindia.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Outlookindia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outlookindia/ X: https://twitter.com/Outlookindia Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaNrF3v0AgWLA6OnJH0R Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OutlookMagazine Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/outlookindia  #WomensDay #Women #Driver #UberDriver #Cab #Belur #WomenAtWork

Transcript

00:00When I stood in front of the customer with my car,

00:03the customer said,

00:04Hey, woman, you can't do this, you can't do this.

00:07Day after day, I saw them canceling my booking.

00:15Namaskar.

00:16I am Sushama Midde, a taxi driver.

00:27I grew up in such an environment,

00:30I was told all the time,

00:31if you have a daughter, you will get her married in two days.

00:36My mother had many dreams from that place.

00:39My mother used to say all the time,

00:42I will educate my three sons and daughters,

00:45they will grow up, they will get a job.

00:47It's been eight years since then,

00:50I am driving a taxi.

00:51If anyone has seen my video seven years ago,

00:56you can watch it.

00:57I used to live in a hut.

00:59With everyone's blessings,

01:01I have taken this flat from that hut.

01:06When I started,

01:10I had two licenses.

01:12One was a two-wheeler,

01:14and then a private license.

01:17Even when I went to get a commercial license,

01:20someone encouraged me.

01:24I went to another office.

01:26When I went to that office,

01:29on the first day,

01:31they told me,

01:32this will be needed, that will be needed,

01:34this will be needed, that will be needed,

01:35I gave them everything.

01:36After giving, they said,

01:37you don't have to give a commercial license,

01:39you don't have to give a commercial license for women.

01:41I told them again and again,

01:42why won't you give it, sir?

01:44Tell me, I gave you everything you wanted.

01:46I have two licenses,

01:48why won't you give me a commercial license after that?

01:51Tell me.

01:52They didn't say anything.

01:53So, on their table,

01:55he once said with a slap,

01:57will you get out of here or not?

02:00So, I got up,

02:03I got up,

02:04on their table,

02:05I slapped him twice and said,

02:08will you give it to me or not?

02:10Why won't you give me the license?

02:13That license came out within two hours.

02:19In our Chadni Chowk,

02:21the road is wide,

02:23but there is parking on both sides.

02:25There is a green space.

02:27So, I didn't know at that time,

02:29this is a one-way,

02:30only this road.

02:31I was backing the car,

02:32a person standing next to me was looking at me,

02:34and said,

02:35hey, go, go, don't stand in the way.

02:37What are you doing here?

02:39Go, go.

02:40I just,

02:41I didn't say anything to him.

02:42I just backed the car,

02:44I came back,

02:45there was a car on both sides.

02:47I backed the car with the green space,

02:50I just turned towards him once.

02:52He lowered his head,

02:54I turned towards him and left.

02:56I didn't say anything.

02:56No need to say anything.

02:58I want to tell every woman,

03:01I mean,

03:02my younger,

03:03my elder,

03:03my teacher,

03:04I want to tell everyone,

03:07this boy and girl,

03:08the difference,

03:10or what is in our mind,

03:13this is a boy, this is a girl,

03:14this is a boy's job,

03:15this is a girl's job,

03:16don't interfere in these things.

03:18The car is my life.

03:23It is my life.

03:25I don't want to say anything about the car.

03:27Because this is my biggest dream.

03:30It has fulfilled all my dreams.

WATCH | Sushma Midde’s Struggle and Success as a Cab Driver

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