The lack of opportunities for women can be judged from the fact that one does not get to see as many female drivers as that of men. Women are presented with household responsibilities which restrict them from pursuing various careers. Jaipur’s Gulesh broke all these norms by becoming the first Uber cab driver of the country. Let’s read about her journey of perseverance.
Delhi: Gulesh Chauhan is the country’s first woman Uber cab driver. She was married off at an early age and faced great difficulties in her journey to independence. She stumbled on countless obstacles but stood strong while facing those challenges.
Marriage at 17
Gulesh is a resident of Jaipur. She had four sisters and one brother. Her father used to work as a daily wage labourer. He passed away when Gulesh was only 17 years old. The household responsibilities doubled, and it became difficult for her mother to raise five children. Gulesh was married off when a proposal marriage was received from Haryana. Gulesh agreed to the proposal to lessen her mother’s burden.
Unending difficulties
Gulesh had taken on the responsibility of her new household well. Everything had seemed to be going well until in 2003, her husband met with an accident. Her husband passed away and it was unbearably painful for her. To add to her tragedy, her in-laws refused to give her any support and she was forced to leave the house with her 10-year-old son.
Gulesh’s mother encouraged her to become self-reliant and start earning money for herself. She had only completed her education till 9th grade, so getting a job for herself was extremely difficult. But Gulesh had decided to take the matter into her hands.
To support herself and her son, she began cooking for others and selling pakoras at roadside stalls. While this provided some income, it wasn’t enough to sustain her household in the long term.
Tiffin service business
Gulesh’s life took a turn for the better when she ventured into the tiffin service business. She was constantly supported by her mother at all stages of her life. Her mother made visiting cards and distributed them among people to promote her daughter's business. Gulesh’s excellent culinary skills and her mother’s initiative in promoting the business helped her secure up to fifty orders a day. It finally felt that her life was coming back on track.
In unfortunate circumstances, Gulesh met with an accident; she suffered from fractures and stitches and the doctors advised her to take four months of bed rest.
Conflicts
Gulesh’s mother had taught her driving; even her son was a source of inspiration for her. Her son’s belief in her abilities led her to explore a new opportunity as a driver. This time, her son made the visiting cards and distributed them to the guards of hotels and restaurants to help them run their taxi service. The visiting card said, “Give a call on this number if you are in need of a driver.”
Gulesh and her son waited for almost two months, but they didn’t receive any calls from anyone. After this, the son learned about the ride-sharing platforms like Ola and Uber. Her son asked her to join these platforms, but Gulesh was hesitant and even slapped him for suggesting to become a driver.
Her son made her believe that nothing is impossible for her. He made it clear that it didn’t matter whether she drove a taxi or a jet plane; he knew she could excel in any endeavour.
Training at Uber
Gulesh found the right opportunity at the right time; she happened to meet a person, Anil who was on the lookout for a female driver. Despite her injuries from a previous accident, Anil encouraged her to become a driver. He provided her with valuable training on using the Uber platform and their bond grew like that of siblings.
Anil also helped her acquire a taxi car of her own and helped her financially. With the unwavering support from her family, Gulesh could become a successful Uber driver.
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