This woman fought the odds and now drives a taxi for a living in Mumbai

Picture/ Humans of Bombay- Instagram

If you are looking for a motivation to achieve an overdue goal, a woman working as a taxi driver has shared her inspiring story with the popular social media page, ‘Humans of Bombay', which is a must read. She shared how she was encouraged by her husband to take up the job as she told him, "A woman can do everything that a man can."

She explains how she was influenced by her mother to be independent and took up odd jobs to make a living, before she came across a newspaper report about women being able to apply for taxi permits. "The opportunity was too good! So I passed the driving test & bought a taxi with my own money. My husband was very supportive & said, ‘This taxi is under your name, you need to learn how to drive it!' Within a few months, I joined the fleet," she said.

Even as she starting driving a taxi, she had experienced her share of troubles from the man in the taxi union, "Some men in the union tried to ensure I got no passengers. They'd stop their taxis in front of mine & question my skills. 15 days in, I was struggling to make a U-turn around a pothole; so one of them loudly asked, ‘If you can't get the basics right, how will you ever drive?' It shattered my confidence & I cried for hours!" she said in the post.

But these setbacks did not stop her. She stayed put and continued driving and received many appreciation from many of her passengers. She shared about the time when an elderly passenger said that she was proud of her and gave her a tip. "Once, an elderly man got into my taxi & said, ‘In my village I'd heard that women are making progress in cities; but this is the first time I've witnessed it. Seeing you drive makes me proud!' At the end of the trip, he gave me Rs. 20!"

She has been driving taxi for past three years and she says it has put her in the driver's seat for life and also talks about a bet she had with her husband and guess who wins!

Shared on Instagram on January 29, the post garnered 27,254 likes with many appreciating her. One user commented, " Power to you." Another user called her an inspiration.

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