Women auto rickshaw drivers in Thane are targets of harassment and abuse by their male counterparts, who are irked that they require to compete with them for business
Women auto rickshaw drivers are constantly harassed by their male counterparts in Thane. Picture for representational purposes. Courtesy: YouTube
"Go where prostitutes are if you want to do business!" According to NDTV, this is what a male autorickshaw driver in Thane told his female counterpart.
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Nearly 150 women auto rickshaw drivers, who ply the streets of Thane daily, are targets of harassment and abuse by male rickshaw drivers. Most of them are forced to confine themselves to an "only women" spot near Thane's train station.
This treatment is a result of apparent hostility from many male rickshaw drivers, who are irked that they require to compete with them for business.
Women auto rickshaw drivers in Mumbai and Thane have been provided 465 licences. These ladies in white coats and ferry commuters thanks to a government scheme that has reserved 5 per cent of rickshaw permits for women.
Anamika Avinash Bhalerao (42), Thane's first woman to become an auto-rickshaw driver in 2016, through a scheme to train and license women drivers says harassment is also meted out by traffic cops.
In one incident, fed up with constant harassment six women drivers filed a police case against a male rickshaw driver, who was immediately arrested. Most of them feel they are being repeatedly targeted due to their gender.
An official with the local rickshaw and taxi union even alleged that some women file false police complaints against male auto drivers as a way to punish the competition.
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