Number of women car drivers rises

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While many consider that driving a car is not a woman’s job, the women of Lahore believe otherwise. The number of female car drivers in the city has increased by 60 percent over the past two decades, Pakistan Today has learnt. City Traffic Police report shows that in the first quarter of the current year, 1,102 driving licences were issued to women.Traffic Police (Licensing) Deputy Superintendent of Police Ali Iftikhar Jafery characterized women drivers ‘responsible’ as compared to men drivers. Although, women drivers were on the rise, he said, many women avoided getting a licence because they wanted to hide the fact that they could drive.City Traffic Officer (CTO) Syed Ahmed Mobin confirmed the rising trend of driving among the women, saying that women were better drivers than men. “Women avoid rash driving but use horn a lot,” he said.
BETTER THAN SAUDI ARABIA: The greater-than-ever tendency of females to come out on the roads and drive in a society where women are subjected to teasing shows the magnitude of freedom that is given to the Pakistani women, as compared with other Islamic countries, where there is a restriction on woman driving. Recently, a Saudi woman was arrested for driving a car and was sent to jail. However, she was released later on, but the arrest questioned the provision of women’s right in Saudi Arabia. The stats clearly show that the situation is not similar in Lahore. “The driving fondness among the women was scaling up, despite the ascent in incidents of harassment of women, which reflected that women were more confident to venture out against all odds,” a women right activist said.
‘QUICK LEARNERS BUT NEED CONFIDENCE’: Paras Car Driving School In-Charge Mubashir said that in his school, almost 50 to 60 percent of the learners were women. He said that the driving index among women had surged during the last few years. “Young girls are fond of driving and they are quick learners too,” he said.
Diana Car Driving School owner Waseem Arif said that more than 80 percent of the learners registered in his school were women. He said women liked to follow traffic rules and were seldom prone to accidents. “Women drivers have yet to gain the expertise to use indicators,” he added.
WHY WARDENS DON’T STOP FEMALES? A senior woman traffic police officer said that the police officers avoided stopping female drivers, even the ones without a licence, because she believes that women were prone to creating a ‘scene’ in public, which could put the officer’s reputation at stake.
A fresh car driver Nosheen Ali said, “I know driving is not an easy job but it gives me confidence.” She said that women avoided rash driving and traffic wardens did not ask them to show driving licence as a token of respect.
DIFFERING VIEWS: A citizen, Javaira, said that females were better drivers than men, who drove recklessly. “Some of the men even fall asleep while driving and even pass comments on other drivers and create a scene. Women do nothing of the sort,” she said.
A citizen, Hassan believes that women often caused traffic accidents since they did not follow traffic rules. “Women are always in a hurry and do not use indicators properly,” he said.
Drama director Aliza Rohail said that some women regarded driving as a sign of freedom for them despite hardships related to the job. She believes that generally men have more self-control as compared to women, who were prone to driving rash.
Another citizen Zabi Ullah said, “Women driving in Lahore is a positive sign. During driving women are as conscious as men. Men cause traffic accidents because of their carelessness and over confidence. On the other hand, females cause accidents when they are stressed.”

5 COMMENTS

  1. Girl power! Driving should not be exclusive for males. Women should step up and drive. Car tips like these are valuable for new or current vehicle proprietor. Popular topics like bad credit auto loans, best mid-size cars of the year, most expensive cars of the year, top cars of the year, etc are always interesting to read. Thank you!

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