ISLAMABAD: Rawalpindi city, the pathway of great warriors of ancient times, has now given birth to a woman truck driver who has shattered the patriarchal social order.
The trend of women as truck drivers has started gaining popularity among women of the old garrison city to earn a handsome livelihood for themselves with a new identity.
Dozens of women have started the profession of truck driving in a male-dominated society, which is very daring and courageous.
Shamim Akhtar, country’s first commercial truck driver said that as she is the sole earner of her family and had to face much hardship in her way but she finally opted for this profession and drives heavy transport vehicle (HVT) to support her family.
“We make our own destinies,” she said. “If I had sat at home, I would have had no future. I worked hard to get this far,” she added.
“If I have to change my life, I must begin with myself. I am not going to accept defeat, I will fight, and there is no looking back now,” she further said.
She said that there was no profession in which women were lacking behind. “You just need courage and confidence to remove barriers and hurdles from your way to prove yourself,” she said, adding that from dishwashing to truck driving, the journey had been long and really strange, but now everyone encourages her.
She said that first, she learnt HVT driving from Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) and then started taking heavy goods and bricks to other cities of the country.
Although this is a male-dominated profession, many of my male colleagues boosted my morale at every step to make me fearless, she said.
She further commented that she was an inspiration for other females in this profession.
“If you are scared, the fear will lead you nowhere. Today, if you are going to be scared, then tomorrow you will not be able to do anything,” she said, adding that she believes that women are capable of achieving everything.
She said that it was imperative to empower women in all sectors of life so that they could be economically independent in their lives.
