'Koi Thappad Marega Road Par, Apne Aap Kaam Chhod Dogi': Uber Cab Driver Sunita Kohli's 16-Year Journey Of Grit

When Sunita Kohli first decided to become a cab driver, most people, including her husband, believed she would not last. But she had to; she didn’t have much of a choice and she did. It has been 16 years since she first sat on the driving seat in 2010, and she has proved most of those who mocked her choice of profession wrong.Sunita’s husband, who often told her "Jab koi thappad marega road par, apne aap yeh kaam chhod dogi" (The day someone slaps you on the road, you'll quit this job yourself), today supports her and takes pride in what she does."Mujhe karna hi karna tha. Mere paas option nahi tha. Mujhe dikhana tha ki main kar sakti hoon'' (I had to do it. I had no other option. I wanted to prove that I could do it.), 44-year-old Sunita, who spends

her days navigating Delhi-NCR's crowded roads as an Uber driver-partner, told Timesnownews.com.

But Sunita’s journey began not with ambition but necessity. The grit and confidence to support family, however, was always intact.Sunita, who was born and raised in Delhi, hails from Haryana’s Sonipat. While growing up, she never dreamt of driving, let alone becoming a cab driver to feed her family. Married at a young age and burdened with family responsibilities, she found herself searching for stable employment. With one daughter, an ailing father, and a husband with no stable job, she did not have much of a choice but to step out and earn. While scrambling for options, she found a job at an NGO, where she was trained at a nominal fee and then assigned a task of driving. That was the first time she held the steering wheel of a car.But for Sunita, those 1,000 rupees that she paid as a fee for her training was not easy money- she saved that amount by doing sewing work day and night.Why did Sunita choose driving? She did so because it offered better money than most jobs available to her. She made a choice at 28, stood by it and is still standing at 44."People Used To Make Fun Of Me," She recalls. Then there were the remarks, just because she was a ‘woman’. Some male drivers taunted her, saying, "Ab yeh auratein hamari driving ki jobs bhi kha jayengi" (Now these women will take away our driving jobs too). She often faced jokes like ‘traffic would worsen because a woman was driving’.Sunita had two options: to get discouraged and leave or prove them wrong. "I knew I had to do it," she says. "I wanted to prove that people were wrong."But all were not the same; many supported her, even random passengers for whom a woman driver was a ‘pleasant surprise.’ At the training centre, she watched many women leave before completing the course. Some faced opposition from their families. Others dropped out because of marriage or social expectations. Only a handful remained until the end. Sunita Kohli was one of them.After completing her training-cum-first-job at Azad Foundation, Kohli joined Meru Cabs. The years spent there helped her gain experience and confidence behind the wheel. Eventually, she moved to Uber in 2018, where she continues to work today.

The ‘Roads’ Were Never Easy to NavigateIn her early days on Delhi's roads, navigating the city was a challenge – both with people and places. To begin with, she didn’t have a smartphone and no way to navigate, which meant stopping repeatedly to ask strangers for directions. The city felt intimidating, especially for a woman trying to establish herself in a profession where female drivers were still a rarity.You Dream, You Aspire And You Achieve. For Sunita, a dream come true moment was when she bought her own car."There was a time when I struggled financially," she says. "Now, I have my own vehicle. It means a lot to me."Where there was once doubt, there is now support: Her homeHer husband helps with household responsibilities, looks after their daughter, and recognises the contribution she makes. "Ab mere husband, jo mujhe ek waqt taunt marte the, aaj mere peeche ghar sambhal lete hain taaki main bahar kaam kar sakun" (My husband, who once taunted and doubted me, now takes care of the household so that I can go out and work), she says.

About People, She Says, “People will always talk.”When conversations around women's participation in the workforce continue to grow, Sunita’s story breaks the barriers many women still face when entering non-traditional professions - safety concerns, social judgement, and family pressure.And Kohli has a message for women who are considering a similar path. "If you want to do something, you have to stand up for yourself."Asked what advice she would give her younger self, the woman who first stepped into a driving training centre despite the doubts, taunts and uncertainty, Sunita took a moment and then replied with a smile that carried both pride and emotion."Apna bhi khayal rakhna seekho." (Learn to take care of yourself too.)