The Queens Drive Club, in collaboration with Shanti Sahyog, launched a driving initiative to teach young women to drive and introduce them to opportunities in automotive mobility in the urban slums of South Delhi and Tughlakabad Village. The initiative aims to build confidence, independent living, and employment options for young women through engagement sessions, a demonstration vehicle, and plans for a structured driving module.
On her visit, Ritika and her daughter, Zaara, met with students enrolled in these programs and spoke briefly with them about confidence, mobility, and the employment opportunities available to them. Ritika asked the students how long it would take for them to be able to learn how to drive a car. There were many answers, from just a couple weeks to a few months. Then, she introduced the students to a demonstration vehicle and explained how it worked. Some of the volunteers present were willing to take turns driving the vehicle under Ritika’s supervision.
Following this demonstration, there was a brief discussion between Dr Aggarwal and Ritika about how to turn the students’ interest into a driving module for future employment opportunities requiring basic driving skills. “Driving expands options and gives young women more control over their own movement,” Ritika said.
This collaboration shows that something as simple as driving can help create new opportunities for young women from under-resourced communities, and could eventually lead to the establishment of a formalized training-to-employment model in the future.
