Roshni Rides lights the way for women in Karachi

Taking into account the various limitations that women bump into during their mobilization in the outside world, Roshni Rides along with notable panelists went into discourse on Thursday about the issue along with an attempt at figuring out probable solutions.

The innovative team comprising of  four Pakistani-Americans, Gia Farooqi (CEO), Hasan Usmani (COO), Hanaa Lakhani (CMO) and Moneeb Mian (CFO), gathered meritorious panelists at Karachi’s famed incubation house, Nest I/O on Thursday in a dialogue focusing on the importance of mobility and financial empowerment of women in the metropolis.

Ayesha Kariappar, MENA Director of CARE, a worldwide movement dedicated to defeating poverty, lauded the initiative of stirring conversations to highlight safety concerns for  women during travel in Karachi. 

“There are so many problems women face on their daily commute and we seldom have solutions for it. I really appreciate this initiative of trying to do something about it,” she stated.

Afiya Zia, a feminist researcher and professor at Habib University, thinks the matter is universal and does not impact all women equally. 

“It is not just about the areas but also the class that we belong to and our relationship with the city that affects our mobility regardless of the transportation issue,” Ms Zia said. 

“You will find that not just your class status would make a difference. Your marital status makes a difference too. Single women ironically have tougher time but they are also much more mobile and freer.”

Activist and famed architect, and social researcher, Arif Hasan, also pitched into the discussion with a different take, saying it all comes down to the location and class. “Once these two concepts are clear, only then can you go on and comprehend the problems of women,” said Mr Hasan. 

Saba Gul, CEO of Popinjay, an initiative which promotes indigenous craft to global markets, shed light on the lack of consciousness men have of their freedom regarding transit issues.

“There is an invisibility of privilege that men have. I have a friend whose company offers free Careem rides to all the women employees and there was a lot of hue and cry raised at the company by their male employees about this. And to me it just showed that men are not aware of this privilege that they have. Like for example, if there is one car in the house, who is going to get it? Not the girl."

“Growing up, no matter the class, I think we don’t have the kind of relationship with our cities that our brothers do because of this issue,” she said.

CEO and founder of RainTree Spa, Lubna Lakhani, observed a shared attitude between women hailing from low-income areas and those from the more affluent backgrounds saying: “The women working for me, you have no idea the kind of independence they show while travelling. Even my own maid would get harassed but would that stop her from travelling? No.”

With the evolving rate at which Pakistan’s women are stepping out of the confines of four walls, countless perils are also coming to surface for them at a swift pace.

 Keeping exactly this in mind, Roshni Rides  addressed the needs of the women ensnared in the more adverse part of the social scale to solve their woes around an unreliable transport system.

The ride-hailing service targets women and female university students, who can travel to predetermined routes to major destinations like hospital, schools and market places.

The service has received immense applause from all around including their win at the prestigious Hult Prize challenge with a million dollar reward.

Roshni Rides has embarked on a journey to close the gap that disables women from actively participating in the job market due to an unsafe and almost dead transit system in Sindh's provincial capital.