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he air inside Aabshar Driving School is filled with laughter and chatter, and not with the roar of engines — a stark contrast to traditional driving centres.
Located on Jail Road, the school caters exclusively to women learning to drive motorcars and scooties. Trainees begin their journey not on the road, but on advanced driving simulators, guided by encouraging female instructors.
Aabshar is run by Inspector Saima Afzal, a senior traffic police officer known for her dedication to women’s road safety. Her goal is to train women to drive not just competently, but confidently. “Driving is not just about steering a car on the road,” she says with a smile. “It’s about being in control of your time, your movement and yourself.”
Established in February 2024 under the Lahore Traffic Police’s Women Driving Training Programme, Aabshar currently has two simulators. It offers comprehensive courses for both manual and automatic cars. Classes run six days a week, from 8 am to 8 pm, over a maximum 21-day period. This permits day scholars, working professionals and housewives to choose a time of their convenience. The fee is Rs 10,000 for car lessons and Rs 3,000 for two-wheelers.
“All our instructors are female,” Inspector Afzal says. “The objective is to provide a safe and comfortable environment where women can learn without hesitation.”
Over 2,000 women have graduated from the school and obtained driving licences. The curriculum begins with three days of mandatory theory sessions, covering traffic signs, road safety and basic mechanical knowledge. “We use multimedia to teach road signs and signals,” says Inspector Afzal. Trainees then move to simulator practice.
Only after the successful completion of this indoor phase are they permitted to drive on major roads.
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Beyond steering, the course empowers women with practical skills like checking engine oil and changing tyres. Aabshar provides them with vehicles and fuel.
For registration, the trainees only need an identity card. The environment, according to Inspector Afzal, is “professional yet friendly. It ensures participation of women from all walks of life.”
The current lot of trainees includes a mother of three, a university student and a retired primary school teacher. Mahnur, an MPhil student, joined two weeks ago and is already driving on main roads. “At first, I was nervous, but now I can drive confidently. The instructors are patient with me. I’ve learned not just how to drive, but also how to stay calm in traffic,” she says.
So far, over 2,000 women have graduated and obtained driving licences. The curriculum begins with three days of mandatory theory sessions, covering traffic signs, road safety and basic mechanical knowledge.
Kezia Asif, 16 days into her course, echoes the sentiment. “No one at my home trusted me with a car, but here, the teachers believe in us. They treat us like equals,” she says, joking that she now understands road signs better than her husband.
For Dr Qaria Naeem, a recent PhD graduate, driving means responsibility and freedom. “My brother has moved abroad and my father cannot drive at night. I needed to learn so I could manage on my own,” she says.
Dr Naeem praises the advanced simulator and the focus on road discipline: “I realise that driving is not just about moving a car, it is about understanding road discipline. That is something many people in Lahore still do not have.”
Mujiba Ramis, who previously tried a private driving centre, highlights the difference in the following words: “In private schools, they make you drive on the main road from the first day... Here, they start with basics — traffic lights, lane rules and right of way.”
Ramis concludes that the school is correcting a societal framing: “They say women drive badly. Actually, most women are never trained. This school is fixing that.”
Those learning to drive two-wheelers also feel the shift. Hafsa Khatoon, a housewife, is learning to ride a scooty to take charge of her daughter’s school commute. She notes, “When I have my own transport, I can drop and pick her up myself.” This is a decision driven by her distrust of rickshaw drivers.
Aabshar is one of 11 centres across the Punjab, but the only one exclusively for women. Inspector Afzal says the response has been overwhelming — the school is attracting doctors, engineers, students and housewives.
Due to high demand for the service, plans are under way to open more women-only centres in other districts, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that every woman who wishes to drive has access to proper training.
While driving proficiency is a major step towards independence and improved employment opportunities for women, Inspector Afzal acknowledges the largest hurdle: changing the mindset that still views women drivers as an oddity.
Ahsan Raza is the editor of Minute Mirror.He can be reached atahsanbudhhotmail.com