In the driver’s seat: How three women drivers broke barriers to build a life of financial independence

At SheSparks 2026, Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory, sat down with Hazira and Shashi, drivers-turned-instructors, and Kumari Aarti, a professional driver, to understand their road to agency, mobility, and financial freedom.

Hazira, Shashi, and Aarti are part of the Azad Foundation’s Women with Wheels programme, which trains women from low-income communities in professional driving and places them in steady jobs.

About nine years ago, when Shashi decided to learn to drive, her family backed her choice. But the road ahead was not going to be easy. On days she had night shifts, her father stayed awake, anxious. He would call her at 1 a.m., then again at 3 a.m... until she got home safely.

Shashi understood her father’s worry that nights in Delhi aren’t safe, especially for women. But she also knew it could work.

Her aunt had been in the driving field for over a decade; she had taught Shashi how to drive, and was living proof that driving could be a real career for women. “When my aunt can do it, 10 years of driving, why can’t I?” Shashi had told her father. And he’d agreed.

Now, after three years of commercial driving, Shashi is a trainer for many women.

As for Hazira, her world before Azad was a much smaller one.

She was rarely allowed to leave the house alone, not even to the market. To rise from that kind of circumstance to become a driving instructor who teaches other women how to navigate the city on their own is no mean feat.

When asked what the change means to her, her answer was simple. That is what freedom is, she said.

Kumari Aarti's situation was difficult. When her daughter was just two-and-a-half months old, her husband left her. Her in-laws asked her to leave the house when her daughter was two-and-a-half years old. With no income and a child to care for, Aarti decided to work. She did manual labour for months before she found Azad.

Today, Aarti has completed six months of the programme, has a driving licence, and a driving job. The day she started earning, her husband came back, and her in-laws too reached out to her.

“Earlier, I didn’t get respect. Now people know my name more than my husband's,” she said.

But getting here was not easy, even after her driving training started. Aarti was struggling to pay rent and nearly quit her driving lessons. That’s when Shashi, her then trainer, split her sessions between mornings and afternoons, so that Aarti could do paid work alongside her training.

When asked about this, Shashi did not make much of it. “Hum hai toh tum ho, aur tum ho toh hum hai.” (We exist because of each other.)

Women who open doors for other women

Women with Wheels creates a ripple effect that drives real change. Shashi was inspired by her aunt. Aarti was trained by both Shashi and Hazira.

Now, Shashi, Hazira, and Aarti are in a position to bring the next woman in. This is not a side effect; it is the model. When one woman moves forward, she becomes the example the next one needs.

Shashi described the moment a former student came back to tell her that she had bought her own car. “I have been able to do so much for someone,” she says.

The programme does not just teach driving. It prepares women for everything the road involves.

Women get self-defence training and tips on how to handle tough passengers. They are also taught how to ask for washrooms on long shifts, something men rarely consider, but women cannot take for granted. Azad’s cars are equipped with pepper sprays and emergency buttons, and drivers get on-duty support as well.

“We are there for each other,” said Shashi, “so that we don’t need anyone else to come to our aid.”

Being part of Azad gives women financial freedom. It helps them understand what it is like to have their own money and spend it on things they want, without anyone asking questions.

The scale speaks for itself. Azad Foundation says the programme has trained over 6,000 women, placed 4,500+ in jobs, completed 5 million+ safe rides, and helped families see a 200% increase in income.

First step towards big wins

The stories of Hazira, Shashi, and Aarti are testimonies to their resilience and unwavering drive to succeed in life.

Aarti once watched a male driver struggle to get his 7-seater through a narrow, zigzag road in Gurgaon. She offered to help. He couldn't understand how she’d manage what he couldn’t. But she drove the vehicle through in one go.

This may seem like a small moment. But in a profession that constantly second-guesses women, it is a big win.

“If I had been sitting at home, I would have kept thinking, maybe he’ll (her husband) come back, maybe he’ll give me money. But today, I don’t depend on anyone. Nothing will happen by sitting at home. We will have to take the first step,” Aarti says.