Meet Neelam Sharma, An Uber Driver Breaking Stereotypes One Ride At A Time

“Ye dekho mardon wala kaam kar rahi hai” (Look at her doing men’s work), “Arre madam, ghar jaake jhadu pocha karo,” (Madam, go home and do some sweeping and mopping). These are some common comments hurled at Neelam Sharma, a 34-year-old Uber driver breaking stereotypes one ride at a time.

Neelam has been driving Uber cars since 2019, and she says that it has given her a newfound sense of independence and hope for the future. She is a resident of Delhi and has three children, a 22-year-old son, and two daughters, who are 24 and 25.

Losing Her Husband

Before becoming a driver, Neelam was a tailor. But in 2015, she had an accident that left her with a dislocated backbone. After the accident, doctors advised her to stop the tailoring work as it requires her to sit in a particular posture, which was not healthy for her.

Since Neelam’s husband was a cancer patient and their children were still quite young, her entire family depended on her, so quitting work was not an option.

So, she started to think about what she could do without endangering her back. She took up odd jobs like working as a caregiver, patient care provider, and cook, in addition to part-time tailoring. But that same year, Neelam lost her husband to cancer and she became helpless. This left the family in a very difficult financial situation. Her relatives and friends also began to keep a distance from her and ceased communicating with her. However, Neelam didn't lose hope and worked harder to provide for her family.

Learnt Driving

One day, in 2017, Neelam found a flyer about a driving course and that became an unusual ray of hope for the family. Her younger daughter expressed interest in it and stated that she wanted to learn to drive and assist financially, but Neelam refused, telling her to focus on her studies.

It was Neelam who picked up the mantle. She learnt to drive while doing different jobs. It took her three to four months to learn and after that, she waited for a good job opportunity.

In 2019, she met a woman, an Uber cab driver, who suggested she join the company. Neelam was hesitant at first because she believed that this work would require her to go on strange routes and gallis (alleys), but she eventually decided to go ahead and signed up.

Neelam has been driving Uber cabs for more than three years now. Every day, she begins her shift at about 10 am in the winter and at 5 am in the summer. She ends her shift around 9 pm in the evening every day.

Driving cabs made it possible for Neelam to pay off large debts, marry off one of her daughters, and allow two of her kids to earn an extra degree in computers.

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Inspiring People Everyday

Neelam says, “When people see a woman driving a car, it inspires a lot of people. Every day, multiple women praise me and express their want to learn how to drive, and this always makes me feel proud.” She added, “I give them the phone number of the place from which I learned to drive and tell them that once you learn to drive, it will increase your confidence as you no longer have to be dependent on your husband, children, or parents to get your work done.”

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Support From Family And Friends

Neelam’s children are very supportive and proud of their mother’s career. They help her in running the house and prepare meals for her while she works. Now the other family members and her neighbours are also supportive of her work. But things weren't always the same. Initially, the neighbours used to taunt Neelam by asking, "Why do you want to do men's work?," "You should do tailoring work”, “Do you realise how risky this work is?” “That work is best for you, and you should only do that", "Don't know what kind of men will sit with her in the car and talk to her." However, Neelam paid them no mind as she carried on with her work.

Types Of Customers

Neelam deals with a variety of customers every day and most of them, especially women, get happy to see her. However, even if the majority of people are impressed by her, many are also disappointed and treat her badly. They question Neelam's driving capability before they have even sat down with her and pass comments such as “I'll cancel the ride and complain about you so that you won't receive many rides", "Will you be able to get me off at my place securely," and "She doesn't know how to drive.”

However, Neelam always responds politely. She says, “I always speak up for myself, but I make sure to do it in a courteous way since the customer can be anything, but for her, they are like her god.”

An Answer To Society In Most Unusual Way

Neelam learned how to drive, which enabled her to find her own path. Despite the many challenges she encountered, she never gave up and continued with her life. She loves how she gets to visit and travel to new locations because of her work. Neelam aspires to buy a car for herself one day.

While she still has to deal with a number of taunts and comments from people while working in a field that is male-predominately, she keeps breaking stereotypes, one ride at a time.

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