New Delhi

Nazina Begum, a niqab-wearing Muslim woman from Cuddapa district of Andhra Pradesh, is training to become a bus driver for the State entity – the State Public Transport Corporation.

Nazina Begum is among those selected for driving heavy vehicles of the government public transport corporation who are being trained by the officials for the job. As part of her training, Nazina Begum has surprised everyone by driving a bus on the roads of Cuddapa.

She is the first Muslim woman to drive a bus in the history of the district. She wear niqab during her training and also while driving the bus.

Nazina Begum has done her master's in English and she also has a B.Ed degree. Her husband Sheikh Muhammad Khawaja Elias is working as a Medical Representative. The couple has a son and two twin daughters. She also served as a Lecturer in English at SV Degree College, Cuddapa. She is struggling to cope with the family's financial problems. Getting a government and a permanent job seems to be the only way out to provide for the bright future of their children.

Nazina Begum has been keen to secure a government job. Having got the opportunity to get one, she has been training with all her heart.

She also wrote the DSC exam twice to get a government teaching position. She said due to heavy competition in her subject of social sciences, she couldnt clear the examnination.

So, when Nazina Begum came to know that to incentivize women’s representation in jobs, the government was giving jobs to women drivers on priority, she decided to get ready to take up the otherwise hard job of driving a bus.

Nazina Begum enrolled herself in the SRTC’s driving school for the 32-day training classes for which she has paid Rs. 23,600 fees. Nazina is the only woman in the batch of 16 trainees at the school.

Nazina Begum driving the bus (Right) and with her trainers (Left)

Mala Sri, a non-Muslim woman from Cuddapa, had earlier completed the training and is now running a driving school.

Apart from the certificate, the candidates are also given a license to drive heavy vehicles. Trainers Sheikh Jabbar and Babu praised Nazina Begum and said that Nazina Begum is picking the skills of driving fast.

He said that Nazina Begum has fully demonstrated her skills during her ten days of training and is driving the bus with ease.

Speaking to Awaz-the Voice, Nazina Begum said that she is keen to get a government job, and driving a bus is the way for her. Nazina Begum said that since 1999, women are being welcomed as drivers in the SRTC. That is why she is training to drive a bus so that she gets a government job and she expects to get a government job as a bus driver anyway. She howecver, would continue to write the competitive examinations for getting into higher government positions.

Nazina is dreaming to drive the bus afterher  training and getting a job with SRTC

Nazina says she is looking forward to a good life with her family due to the encouragement and support of her life partner. Nazina Begum said that she will work as a driver in RTC after completing her training and obtaining a heavy vehicle license.

Her husband Sheikh Mohammad Khawaja Ilyas said that tasks like bus driving may be difficult but it’s not impossible. He said that goals can be achieved through hard work. He said that Nazina Begum drives fou-wheeler skillfully and now she is driving the bus easily during training.

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Khawaja Ilyas said that he got married to Nazina Begum in 2008 and since then he has been helping her get education and employment. He said that although he could not get a government job, his spouse would get a government job.