Women in Mobility

To introduce, I am Jai Bharathi, the Founder & CEO of MOWO Social Initiatives Foundation.As an avid women motorcyclist & traveller,I was conferred by the Department of Women & Child Welfare, Govt of Telangana with “ Vishishta Mahila Puraskaram” in 2019.Heading an all-women motorcycle club from its inception in 2013 in my own city, I led several expeditions in India, 17000 kms cross-country across south east asian nations, 17380 kms across USA promoting women safety. My efforts in the field of motorcycling have been appreciated by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Sri Narendra Modi & Hon’ble Chief Minister of Telangana, Sri.K.Chandrasekhar Rao.I also authored a book 'Road to Mekong' on organising & leading the first of its kind all women cross country motorcycle expedition.

Professionally an architect,I worked with several nonprofit organisations in  economic empowerment of women, education for children, solar lighting and relief work during natural calamities. 

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Women all over India face restrictions on their mobility and occupy public spaces much lesser. While cultural restrictions are a big contributor, the ever-present lack of safety is another factor. Many women in India refrain from pursuing their dream careers as commute becomes a major challenge.

By training women to ride 2/3 wheelers and creating an online platform for them to connect, we can encourage women to learn to ride safely and also pick up livelihood opportunities in mobility sector.We liaise with organisations to create more employment opportunities for women in mobility and work on policy advocacy which will eventually lead to more women occupying our roads. 

As this article on UN-Habitat rightly states – “Creating safety involves much more than just responding to violence. It is important to create the conditions by which women are able to move about safely and without fear of violence or assault.”

India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. With increasing number of global brands starting operations in the country, there has been a significant rise in the number of people migrating to urban areas for employment. As urban poor sees an unprecedented rise, there is a significant leap in employment opportunities in transport and mobility sector. However, as is the case with most industries, this sector employs only a marginal number of women not even accounting to 1% of the jobs. 

Most than 50% women in India refrain from pursuing better careers as commute becomes a major challenge. This not only affects the personal and professional growth of the woman, but also adversely impacts the economy on a broader scale. 

Challenges faced by women:

• Lack of proper resources for non traditional livelihood options.
• Exclusive driving centres for women.
• Road Safety Awareness 
• Lack of experience in mobility sector.
• Women/girls refrain from pursuing careers as commuting becomes a challenge.
• Safety not only at the workplace but also during the commute to & fro from the workplace.

In order to improve the new age women mobility & financial independence, we at MOWO work with mobility as our tool :

1.Two-Wheeler and Three-Wheeler Training Programmes

We offer 2-4 weeks of training programmes to equip women in two/ three-wheeler driving skills. Knowing that not all women will have access to vehicles, we have a fleet of geared & non-geared vehicles which we utilise for training. Keeping in mind the comfort of the training batches, our training team comprises exclusively of women which removes further barriers to learning.Provide extended assistance in getting them driving licenses. We wish to create more women leaders, so, we train some of the graduates to become instructors as well.

2.Employment Training

We also provide soft skills and employment training. Based on individual interest, we work with them to prepare them for working life, with our road readiness programme. 

 3.Creating Jobs

Our team liaises  with delivery and logistic services companies to assist in placing our training graduates in jobs that suit their requirement. 

Based on their feedback, we reach out to the employer with recommendations for changes to the job contract if needed. This helps in creating a better working environment  for women in long run.

While employment opportunities have grown by leaps and bounds in every part of our Globe, commuting to and from the workplace has become a major challenge for many women in India.We work with the Under Privileged Women from the age groups of 18-58 years of the lower strata of the Society and empower them through mobility.

Many young girls above 18 years  in their graduation and those who are already working ,travel through the urban & rural areas, raising the need to provide a safer and reliable option for them to travel carefree.

Another set are the women working in informal sectors, the ones who are Vegetable Vendors / Hawkers, Small Shop Owners, Tailors, Fruit Sellers, Fish & Chicken Mart Owners, etc. Most of them wouldn’t even have been to high school and left out in learning opportunities.By teaching them to ride, we not only increase their potential to do more but also give them necessary road safety sessions.

We bring them under One Umbrella to make them understand the they will be taken care of through the Mobility. This Mobility Training will empower them to lead their lives independently, driving their own Vehicles to their respective places of work.

We work around Women’s Mobility, training the girls & women in riding  2/3 wheelers.

We addresses this, through Driving Sessions by women instructors, Road Rules & Safety Measures plus occupying roads more & more to secure their stand. This further, empowers Women to a stage that they are able to run their own lives.

The Target Population are the young girls pursuing their graduation & early careers and Women who are Vegetable Vendors / Hawkers, Small Shop Owners, Tailors, Fruit Sellers, Fish & Chicken Mart Owners, etc., who get benefited by our  training session exclusively for women and by women.

Through all my journeys, women’s safety & road safety were always at the back of my mind. In the last decade of my adventures, I have followed every rule to ensure that my trips are accident and incident-free - not just for me but for all the others as well. Gradually, the thought struck me – why not extend this safety to the broader community of young girls and women instead of restricting the experience to a handful of hobby riders?

Led by this thought, I started teaching two-wheelers riding to girls and women on weekends as a community service to 265 women between 18 and 58 years of age.The requests from several other women started pouring in, and I knew it was the time to build a new ecosystem to empower women through Mobility.

In March 2018, during the Road to Mekong expedition, some women in their 40’s standing as bike taxi operators at the Myanmar-Thailand border caught my attention.That day I knew what my purpose in life was. Those women helped me think through how best I could train our women back in India and also facilitate livelihood opportunities.

A decade of motorcycling 70000 Kms across India, got me an opportunity to ride all the way to South East Asia in 2018. At Myanmar-Thailand land border,this woman bike taxi rider in her late 40's made me realise my purpose of life.

The next 10000 kms of journey back to

India lead to the vision of MOWO.

Having an origin in a developing country ( India ), my expeditions in developed countries, U.S.A ( 30 States), U.K ( 3 ), Turkey ( 11 Provinces ) and South East Asia ( China, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia & Nepal) gave me insights on the real potential of women in mobility.

Focus is on enabling this potential in under developed and develpoing countries in Asia & Africa aligned with 7 areas of UN SDG's.

Currently there are no organisations working on the similar lines in India which work as an umbrella for training the women and then providing suitable placements.Training modules with women trainers is an added advantage. When it comes to the community app, though there are many online communities for women in the urban areas, most of them cater to the educated and working professionals.Very few community platforms are made specific to women in mobility coming from less literate backgrounds.

While there are some indirect competitors, most of them focus on one vertical of delivery logistics.Training, road readiness and hand holding them to get the required licenses is a great value proposition in a country like India where there are no formal 2/3 wheeler training institutes exclusively for women.

All ready existing partnerships with local government bodies and NGOs working in women empowerment, mark a unique positioning in the industry.

In 2019, I planned to set out on a 10800 miles motorcycle expedition across U.S.A to create awareness on #Womenin Mobility and also raise funds for Mowo. A private organisation agreed to sponsor the expedition costs and also let me use part amount for Mowo.After releasing 25% of the agreed sponsorship, I booked my flight tickets and was all set to fly out from India in a week.

Due to some unforeseen situations, the sponsoring organisation was not in a position to arrange for the balance funding. All I had was 100 $ and return tickets to U.S.A. The expedition was named Wheels of Will, I decided I should not give up on my dreams and went ahead with the trip. I had a motorcycle arranged for me in Dallas and an attitude to never give up.Landed in U.S.A got some friends and organisations support and successfully completed the journey as planned.

Obstacles are a part of every journey but its the ability to not give up that opens doors to new opportunities.

In 2018, I got an opportunity to lead an all women motorcycle expedition to South East Asia. I had to choose the team and built a dream to so many who never thought of doing such trips. After five months of planning, due to some budget crunch by the government authorities who were supporting us, I was asked to reduce the group size.

I sat in a tuktuk and wept endlessly to be in that position to make a decision on killing the dreams I have built.I took a days time and approached several others who could be of help. Finally I could muster the support needed and could take everyone as planned on a 56 days expedition through India, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam & Thailand.

As a leader we will often be put through making difficult choices, the true ability of any leader is not to give up on the team even its costs them a fortune.

Currently there are no organisations working on the similar lines in India which work as an umbrella for training the women and then providing suitable placements.Training modules with women trainers is an added advantage. When it comes to the community app, though there are many online communities for women in the urban areas, most of them cater to the educated and working professionals.Very few community platforms are made specific to women in mobility coming from less literate backgrounds.

While there are some indirect competitors, most of them focus on one vertical of delivery logistics.Training, road readiness and hand holding them to get the required licenses is a great value proposition in a country like India where there are no formal 2/3 wheeler training institutes exclusively for women.

All ready existing partnerships with local government bodies and NGOs working in women empowerment, mark a unique positioning in the industry.

With MOWO, we wanted to work towards making our roads an equal space for women. As this article on UN-Habitat rightly states – “Creating safety involves much more than just responding to violence. It is important to create the conditions by which women are able to move about safely and without fear of violence or assault.”

Situational Experiences:

1.“My workplace is 26kms from my home. I spend close to one and a half hours  to reach office amidst peak hour traffic by road. The nearest metro station to my home is about 3 k.m and to my office is again another 6.5 k.m. Sharing transportation comes with a fear of sitting with strangers. Becoming self dependent or looking for autos run by women are the only option for me.”

- Malathi, Working with an MNC.

2. “My workplace is 26kms from my home. I spend close to one and a half hours  to reach office amidst peak hour traffic by road. The nearest metro station to my home is about 3 k.m and to my office is again another 6.5 k.m. Sharing transportation comes with a fear of sitting with strangers. Becoming self dependent or looking for autos run by women are the only option for me.”

- Malathi, Working with an MNC.

3.“ I wasn’t good at studies , but was always a street smart girl right from my childhood. Whenever I see  Amazon/UBER/OLA/Swiggy/CallHealth drivers, I always felt that I can be one of them. We are four girls in the family and my father is always worried about our safety. Asking him to teach me how to ride a two wheeler or a three wheeler is almost equal to a crime. Though I know being a chauffeur would be an apt job for me, with no brothers or male friends who can teach me how to ride.

- Sapna, Looking for non traditional employment opportunities.

As we just completed our first year, I am thrilled to have reached many milestones right from securing land for a training facility to collaborating with government colleges, self-help groups, and logistic companies. Parallelly with a team of 4 full-time and 4 part-time employees, we could reach out to more than 1200 young women through our outreach programs on the importance of safe riding practices. This will also aid in the overall safety of women, the one big battle we are all facing right now. With the limited facilities and bootstrapped funds, we trained more than 200 women to ride two-wheelers and encouraged them to secure driving licenses.

In the second year we look forward to reach out and train 2500 girls/women to ride two & three wheelers and assist them in relevant livelihood opportunities.

In 5 years, we would like to build an exclusive two/three wheeler training centre for women and empower 25000 girls/women through mobility.

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Future Road Map :

1. To train 2500 girls/women annually to ride two & three wheelers.

2. Encourage women to pick up livelihood opportunities in mobility sector.

3.Develop a community app, which acts as an umbrella for connecting our women across the state including rural areas and maximising their employment opportunities.

4.Form strategic partnership and alliances with other public and private organisations to support our vision and mission and generate employments opportunities for women in last mile connectivity.

5.Partner with colleges, NGOs, women welfare centers for active participation and larger impact.

6. Build a  ’Training Centre’ exclusively for women, providing all of the following under one roof: 

• Two & three wheeler driving sessions on dedicated track
• Technical skills required to operate electric motor vehicles.
• Soft skills training for employability
• Act as a women employment bureau: Place for collecting industry requirements for future employments & opportunities for women
• A community space for women to interact and strengthen the bonds .

7. After 3 years, expand our operations in other majors cities across the country.

8.By the end of 5 years, rise to an institutional level where women in mobility will be norm.

Challenges to accomplish our five year goals:

• Capital Expenditure to set up the centre - INR 70,000,00/-( direct or through partners )
• Operational Expenses for the first two years until the centre becomes self sustainable - INR 92,600,00/-( direct or through partners)
• Electric & Non Electric two & three wheelers. ( One time purchase )
• Volunteer in our activities
• Employment Opportunities to generate revenue

Culturally, its a big taboo for women in India to work to ride 2/3 wheels and also work as delivery partners. Most of our sessions are hence focussed on breaking this taboo.60% of our efforts go into this rather than direct training on two wheelers. 

Since its niche process, no direct support networks are currently available in our region.This further reduces our capacity for immediate impact. 

We are continuously steering our efforts towards collaborations and support to maximise our impact in the next five years.

Pitching to raise funds for capital expenditure from private organisations.

Applying for varies grants and funds both through public and private organisations.

Collaborating with automobile companies to help us with the supply of vehicles for training.

Encouraging the women whom we have trained, to join us back as instructors and volunteers.

Conducting awareness sessions for women in mobility to break the cultural taboo.

Sensatising the men who are already in mobility sector to encourage their women to join them in this sector.

Collaborating with organisations in last mile connectivity to draft women specific policies.

Policy advocacy to bring this change through the local governing bodies.

We signed an MoU with the municipal corporation GHMC for providing land to set up MOWO’s first exclusive motor training facility for women. 

Uber Eats joined a unique partnership with MOWO exclusively to hire our women graduates as delivery partners. This partnership also offers flexible working hours to keep the job accessible to women. 

ETO Motors have signed up with us to train and deploy women, auto pilots, for their e-Autos.  We are currently working together to develop training modules and procedures to secure the required statutory permissions and driving licenses.

Partnered with government, social and tribal welfare colleges to offer free two wheeler training for young girls from lower income groups.

Partnered with self help groups  and local NGO’s to train the lower income group women to ride two/three wheelers for better livelihoods.

Partnered with self help groups  and local NGO’s to train the lower income group women to ride two/three wheelers for better livelihoods.