Last year online ride-sharing service Careem introduced female captains in Pakistan. It was seen as a great social initiative by the Company, given the stigma attached to women working in unconventional workplaces in Pakistan.
At present, women account for about 22% of the workforce in the country and much of it has to do with it not being culturally acceptable for women to work outside their homes. Although it has been twelve months since Careem introduced this, the site of a female captain taking you for a ride is still rare.
This girl was lucky enough to be served with a female captain and took the opportunity to show her face to the world
Meet Noshi Noreen. A @CareemPAK driver who was my captain this morning. So professional, so steady at the wheel and incredibly educated. She told me her story which starts with every woman’s need to venture out for empowerment and safeguards. More power to women’s feet. pic.twitter.com/KFUY0UZ7hj
— Aisha Sarwari (@AishaFSarwari) December 18, 2017
Aisha was picked up by Nosheen who shared her entire story with Aisha while giving her a ride. In Aisha’s words, Nosheen is incredibly educated and a full-on professional.
“She told me her story. Her plans having being ditched when her husband unfortunately passed on a month or so ago. The courage and dignity with which she told her story were unmistakable. She was one of the people whose aura made you feel like you were in the presence of both fortitude and grace. She was articulate and had a positive override as she explained that Careem gave her flexibility. Something that she needed now more than ever”, Aisha told MangoBaaz.
“We spoke feminism and politics and agreed on the importance of dismantling the power structures that prevent women from choosing the life they need to lead”, she added.
Given the overall message being sent, people had a lot of positive things to say about it
This is the dawn of a new era, truly inspirational and we certainly do need to empower our women with initiatives like this. Bravo ☺️
— LahoriMunda41 (@41Munda) December 18, 2017
Zabardast !
— Ali Arif (@i_aliarif) December 18, 2017
A lot of respect and keep it up Ms Noshi
— Shahzad Ahmed Malik (@shahzad353618) December 18, 2017
This is fantastic! All the very best to the captain ?✈️ well done @CareemPAK @careem
— Ali Malik (@Ali_Malik) December 18, 2017
Hopefully, she did
Hope you gave her a five star rating.
— Pakicetus (@AfanKhan1984) December 18, 2017
Some saw this as a great achievement for Pakistan
In the US only a couple of Uber drivers we had were women! Well done Pakistan.
— Yasmine Jamil (@doongagali) December 18, 2017
Progressive and positive Pakistan ??
Always Feels good to see such role models for our young generation— Asif Ali Shah (@oshikhandassi) December 19, 2017
One guy suggested that Careem to work out a deal with banks to lend women cars
Dear Careem, women r better than men in returning investment done on them.
Talk to a bank to lend cars to women capable of being ur captain to work their way out of owning that Careem Carhttps://t.co/3ksVOzuCtU— Fishel Benkhald (@Jew_Pakistani) December 18, 2017
Thankfully Careem already has such a program in place that is equally available to women
Hey Fishel, our PMYBL program is equally available for female captains as well ?
— Careem Pakistan (@CareemPAK) December 18, 2017
What do you guys think? Let us know in the comments below.