In a bid to combat rising inflation and unemployment, a young woman from Karachi has taken up the challenge of joining a male-dominating profession of driving auto rickshaw to support her family after her father’s untimely demise.
Alisha Abdul Jameel, a resident of city’s Drigh Road locality, is the youngest among her sisters and wants to fulfill the wishes of her late father by going against the trends of the society. Abdul Jameel a rickshaw driver had no son and he taught his youngest daughter to take the bull by the horn.
“When my father was ill, he taught me how to drive his rickshaw,” Alisha said. “He wanted me to fulfill his dream of becoming a breadwinner in the family like a son would… he wanted me to play this role to improve the financial situation of my family,” Alisha said while talking to The Express Tribune.
She said that after her father Abdul Jameel died, she had to take care of her mother and sister, and therefore, she started driving the rickshaw a year ago but at the cost of her studies.
Alisha said that she lives in a two-room rented house in the Drigh Road area along with an unmarried sister and mother, adding that four of her sisters are married and are living a happy life.