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Zeenat Gari: An initiative to drive women out of the red

Zeenat Gari: An initiative to drive women out of the red

The women-run rickshaw service aims to help its female drivers make ends meet
02 Oct, 2015

LAHORE: A unique initiative -- ‘Zeenat Gaari’-- has been launched in the city to help and empower the underprivileged women who struggle on a daily basis to make both ends meet.

Many women have been provided customised rickshaws (Zeenat Gaari) to help them start their own service. In addition, 10 women have been raised as general store owners.

Seed out, an NGO, in collaboration with the Coca Cola Company, launched the project at the Expo Centre on Thursday. Rickshaws and general store items were distributed among the women selected through the programme.

In our society where general stores are mostly run by men and rickshaws driven by male drivers, the project hopes to help the confident, determined women entrepreneurs eke out a living in a dignified way.

To ensure the safety of women and making the experience comfortable for them, the Zeenat Gaari has been carefully designed with features such as security gadgets, wifi and fans. To make them fit for a woman to drive, the rickshaws have also been made aesthetically pleasing by painting them cream and red.

The NGO, which has been working to alleviate poverty by raising micro entrepreneurs, felt it was about time they broke women stereotypes such as ‘women should not/or cannot work’.

While elaborating on the project, Zain Ashraf Mughal, the founder and president of the NGO, said: “This will revolutionize the concept of local transportation in Pakistan especially for women travelers and school going girls.” He added that “Seed Out is not only making these women independent rickshaw drivers but also providing them an income source they can earn with respect and dignity as well as ensuring they learn the right skills required through capacity building programmes.”

During the event, a documentary prepared by the beverage company, which offered a glimpse into the private lives of the entrepreneurs, clips from their training sessions with the NGO on how to drive the rickshaw and visit to the Super Asia factory to learn the mechanisms of the rickshaw, was shown. It visually captured the expressions and body language of the15 women entrepreneurs while simultaneously encapsulating the positive change it brought to their lives by giving them the freedom to run their own businesses.

The powerful documentary was followed by a distribution ceremony, where the rickshaws and general store items were formally handed over to the women entrepreneurs. As a way to show solidarity with the issue at hand, the women wore steel grey and red uniform and white duppata and added a pleasant feel to the evening.

Published in Dawn, October 2, 2015

Comments

SR Oct 02, 2015 11:27am
Good initiative to empower women of our society. For upliftment of a family women power cannot be ignored. Well done.
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Z Oct 02, 2015 11:40am
Nice one.. keep it up
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Khalid Oct 02, 2015 11:42am
Very good initiative and wishing success for this noble cause.
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M.Haroon Mughal Oct 02, 2015 11:44am
Very nice and enlightened initiative for not only the underprivileged women to raise their life standards in a respectable way but its also safe and convenient for the female passengers to ride with a female driver. But the idea must also be reinvigorated by the government in order to ensure on-road safety of women, e.g, police bizarre etc.
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Rahmeen Ahmad Oct 02, 2015 12:06pm
Why do we need a WiFi in rickshaw? Can we have some more details about Security Gadgets please? Good initiative though.
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CALCUTTA MAN Oct 02, 2015 12:08pm
"..... the project hopes to help the confident, determined women entrepreneurs eke out a living in a dignified way." I have a question. Does the project hope the women entrepreneurs struggle ?
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Mohsin Dharsi Oct 02, 2015 12:22pm
Good to see my designed and played Rickshaw on Lahore roads. May Allah bless the initiator or the initiative.
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Khalid Oct 02, 2015 12:27pm
A very good initiative and must be initiated in other cities like Karachi, Rawalpindi , Faisalabad and Multan.
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adnan Oct 02, 2015 12:33pm
unreasonable! this will add the boldness in our society..
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Gulkhaiz Oct 02, 2015 01:01pm
Practical and productive initiative. I hope it is sustained,.Excellent effort.
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Passenger Oct 02, 2015 01:14pm
These richshaws rear leaf springs are too stiff, the ride becomes very hard and bumpy, the springs do not absorb the bumps on the roads. Often when going over a speed braker the passenger is literally bumped up to the top. The rear suspension should be redesigned, to make travel more comfortable.
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mustanid Oct 02, 2015 01:48pm
No comments!! is every one so shocked. I believe it is a good move, so people can come out of poverty. But who is going to look after the children and home?
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Technokraft Oct 02, 2015 01:53pm
They could have come up with a better name then that. For example: ZeeShaw, ZeeCar, ZeeCab, instead of calling it "Zeenat Gari" ,
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Tahir Oct 02, 2015 02:38pm
@CALCUTTA MAN you don't have to take each word on its literal sense..here it means this will help them to start earning some money to feed for themselves...If they're bright enough who is stopping them from growing further?
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W Oct 02, 2015 03:59pm
@Rahmeen Ahmad "Why do we need a WiFi in rickshaw? Can we have some more details about Security Gadgets please?" good questions. By the way Wi-Fi is also a security resource!
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Zohaib Oct 02, 2015 04:14pm
great initiative, i trust women drivers :)
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N Oct 02, 2015 11:01pm
"To make them fit for a woman to drive, the rickshaws have also been made aesthetically pleasing by painting them cream and red." What does vehicle color have to do with ease and ability to drive? Very sexist language.
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Adil Jadoon Oct 03, 2015 05:14am
True equality for women can only be achieved by making them financially independent!
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Leon Oct 07, 2015 02:43pm
Hello there, could you please tell me the name of the NGO who supports such causes for women such as the Zeenat Gari initiative
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