When I turned 18, my father took up the herculean task of teaching me how to drive. It went very well. I quit driving but it taught me to never to get into an argument with my father because, on the road, he closely resembles Rachel when she tried to teach Joey how to sail his boat. One Sunday morning, he took me out to practice and I messed something up and almost hit a car that was in front of me. I still remember the guy driving that car said, “women can’t drive, why do they even try?”. If it weren’t for my father who sitting beside me and shooting daggers out of his eyes, I would’ve probably flipped that douche and his stereotyping ass off.
My point, ladies and gentlemen, is that the world believes that women are inherently horrible drivers. Okay, if you draw a comparison then yes, men might be better drivers than we are but that doesn’t mean that they have a monopoly over the field. Well, that’s how it’s treated. No one will ever imagine a woman driving a taxi or a truck. It’s a very male-dominated field that just has no space for women and it’s unfair to the women who are actually very good drivers. And basically, this is a trope that needs to die anyway.
The phrase “women can’t drive” is one of the biggest stereotypes just waiting to be broken. And as the famous saying goes, there’s no time like the present.
Also Read: A Woman Auto Driver Drove Over 140 Kms To Drop A Recovered Covid Patient. She’s An Inspiration
Having said that, I am so delighted to say that in a first, a woman has been appointed to drive an ambulance in Tamil Nadu but Chief Minister K Palaniswami. Yep, she is the first ambulance driver in the country, or at least the political party is saying she is. How exciting is this?
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, M Veeralakshmi was appointed as a driver for the newly launched ‘108’ ambulances. Before this, the 30-year-old woman was a taxi driver. She told the Hindu, “I applied for the job since there was a vacancy and I felt I could clear the interview. Only later I came to know I am the first woman in the field.” Further adding, “Being a driver, I have no fear of the road. But I did not want to drive only for the sake of income. I wanted to serve people in some way, and hence wanted to become an ambulance driver.”
This is just so wholesome. We have our first woman ambulance driver. I know it may seem like small news but it’s so significant. Besides, better late than never, right? We are just glad that a woman cracked her way into the male-dominated field and hopefully she paved the way for her fellow sisters as well.
More power to her!
https://thehauterfly.com/lifestyle/a-woman-had-to-drive-her-uber-from-pune-to-mumbai-herself-after-her-driver-fell-asleep-twice-at-the-wheel-wtf-is-happening/