Women Auto Drivers Gain Skills and Support in Karnali

Karnali. In recent times, women have been increasingly attracted to the auto driver profession. More than 100 women auto drivers are engaged in this profession in Surkhet. As they enter the city, they are making the profession self-reliant with their labor, skills, and courage. This has not only sustained their daily lives but also enabled them to save for the future. To keep women moving towards self-reliance, the Ministry of Social Development, Karnali Province, has provided training to 54 auto drivers. The auto drivers not only participated in the program but also openly shared their views on the risks of the profession, society's perspective towards them, the behavior they face, and the challenges they have to confront. In the program, auto driver Sushila Sapkota argued that women can turn challenging work into opportunities and that they are not weak. At the training program, the chief of Birendranagar Municipality, Mohanmaya Dhakal, advised them to love their profession and work with commitment to their business. Dr. Lalit Shahi, chief of Karnali Women's Health Clinic Surkhet and Gynecologist at Karnali Province Hospital, advised the women auto drivers to get regular check-ups at the hospital to maintain the health of their children and themselves. The chief of the Highway Security and Traffic Management Office, Surkhet, Superintendent of Police Mukund Prasad Rizal, stated that the training was organized with the aim of making the business of women auto drivers dignified, respectable, and safe. Khagendra Prakash Gaire, an officer from the Health Services Division of the Ministry of Social Development, informed women auto drivers about mental health and non-communicable diseases. Stating that one person commits suicide daily in Karnali due to mental illness, he informed that 12 types of medicines are available free of charge at the hospital.