{"id":92694,"date":"2019-08-29T16:22:17","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T23:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=92694"},"modified":"2019-08-29T16:22:17","modified_gmt":"2019-08-29T23:22:17","slug":"meet-the-sri-lankan-women-driving-pink-tuk-tuks-in-a-mans-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/08\/29\/meet-the-sri-lankan-women-driving-pink-tuk-tuks-in-a-mans-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Sri Lankan women driving pink tuk-tuks in a man\u2019s world"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zinara Rathnayake Courtesy Adventure.com<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Tourist numbers to Sri Lanka took a huge dip in the wake of the Easter Sunday bombings, but that didn\u2019t stop these single mothers. Zinara Rathnayake visits Think Pink Sri Lanka, an inspiring new initiative that\u2019s putting women in the driver\u2019s seat.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A salty coastal breeze and the usual early hour scenes welcome me as I disembark the train at Hikkaduwa. Men in their office slacks and women in colorful sarees rush past me for a day\u2019s work. I hop on a running tuk-tuk\u2014my driver might be male but, where we\u2019re going, we won\u2019t need male tuk-tuk drivers.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we drive past the center of beach town Hikkaduwa, the rush hour buzz isn\u2019t quite as buzzy as it used to be. Many breakfast shacks are closed for operation, and even the ones that are open have empty chairs outside. A few months ago, they\u2019d be packed with travelers looking for a tomato, cheese and omelet roti served with lunu miris<\/em>, a fiery onion relish. But the travelers aren\u2019t here.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tourists
Prior to the Easter Sunday bombings, places like Hikkaduwa were full of tourists. Photo: Max Kukurudziak<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Easter Sunday bombings in April 2019 were a major blow to Sri Lanka\u2019s tourism with traveler arrivals in May down 70 per cent compared to the previous year. A recent spate of media exposure\u2014including being named as the world\u2019s best island by Travel & Leisure<\/a>\u2014is helping improve the situation and the government has also taken several steps to boost tourism, such as free visas to visitors from 48 countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July, over 100,000 foreigners visited the island, a healthy improvement from the 35,000 that visited in May. Nevertheless, it\u2019s still a 50 per cent drop from the previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RELATED: The social enterprise that\u2019s cleaning up Cambodia<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to drive foreign travelers in my tuk-tuk,\u201d says Nilani Priyangika. It will earn me a better income\u2014there\u2019s hardly anyone at the Galle Fort now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 39-year-old single mother has been driving tuk-tuks for just a month\u2014she took the job to offset the income she lost after the economic decline in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks. I was an independent home-based tailor and had a contract with a few shops in Galle. But their business is low now, and they told me they no longer required me to work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An
Initiatives by the government and being voted \u2018world\u2019s best island\u2019 has helped boost tourism, but many people who previously benefited from the industry still need to supplement their income. Photo: Tomas Malik<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nilani is part of the Think Pink Sri Lanka<\/a> initiative, a women-only taxi service that was set up by the Rose May Foundation<\/a> to help generate income for the women of Sri Lanka and Nepal. Now, as Nilani drives her tuk-tuk in the suburbs of Galle, southwestern Sri Lanka, she receives an income to sustain her family of three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The foundation was set up by Mary and Graham Storrie, and named after their late daughter Rosie May, who was murdered at a Christmas party in Leicestershire, United Kingdom, in 2003. The organization\u2019s aim is to protect, empower and educate at-risk children around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I finally feel independent driving this tuk-tuk. As women, we shouldn\u2019t be spending our lives within the four walls of our home.\u201d<\/p>

Jeganeshwaram<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In her early 20s, Nilani lived in South Korea and worked in a junior-level record-keeping job, a job she loved and enjoyed\u201d. But when she returned home for a visit, she discovered that her mother had already arranged her marriage with a man she didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t say no to my parents,\u201d says Nilani as we talk at the Rosie May Foundation\u2019s Sri Lanka office. A close-knit family structure and the socio-cultural norms in Sri Lanka expect daughters to be obedient to their parents\u2014even when it comes to their choice of husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"For
For Jega, her pink tuk-tuk has become her main source of income. Photo: Nathan Mahendra<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A few years later, her husband abandoned her for another woman, and Nilani was left to raise her two sons on her own. If I talk about going back to work in South Korea or the Middle East, my eldest son begins to cry,\u201d Nilani says. I\u2019m both their mother and father.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of Nilani\u2019s colleagues at Think Pink Sri Lanka, Jeganeshwaram, nicknamed Jega, shares a similar story. Her husband left her for another woman a decade ago, and the 42-year-old now raises her son on her own. I finally feel independent driving this tuk-tuk,\u201d says Jega. As women, we shouldn\u2019t be spending our lives within the four walls of our home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RELATED: Heading to Sri Lanka? Don\u2019t forget Colombo<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuk-tuks are a popular mode of transport in Sri Lanka, but a woman driver is still a rare sight\u2014men comprise the vast majority of the 1.2 million auto-rickshaw drivers<\/a> on the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think Pink Sri Lanka is helping break these social norms. Jega, for example, has secured a number of regular customers, including a few families. She earns a healthy income to support her son\u2019s education, and pay the monthly rent and fuel charges for the tuk-tuk. The rent goes towards the maintenance of the vehicle and paying off the training she initially received.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tuk-tuks
Sri Lankan society is typically dominated by males, and not all male tuk-tuk drivers are happy about having to compete with women for their fares. Photo: Chathura Inkika<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are currently five women driving their pink tuk-tuks on Sri Lanka\u2019s southern roads, with four in training. We provide an intensive month-long training course for every driver,\u201d says project manager Ramani Samarasinghe. In the first three months after their training, they don\u2019t have to pay rent for their tuk-tuks. After that, we offer them a contract and renew it every six months.\u201d A meter is hardwired to the tuk-tuk, which gives customers a lower price than what is usually being quoted by other tuk-tuks in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Male drivers in the village do not like us driving tuk-tuks. They tease us when we drive, and one even asked me to lower my fares, and verbally harassed me for securing their hires.\u201d<\/p>

Jeganeshwaram<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)<\/a>, reports that 90 per cent of Sri Lankan women are harassed on public transport and on the roads, and Think Pink\u2019s drivers do not drive men or men in groups. Their customers comprise children, solo women and families. Mothers prefer to send their kids, especially daughters, with us over a male driver,\u201d says Jega.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Deepika
Deepika Priyadarshani drives her pink tuk-tuk to support her daughter\u2019s education. Photo: Nathan Mahendra<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While progress is being made, there\u2019s still a long way to go in terms of the women of Think Pink being accepted in mainstream Sri Lankan society. Male drivers in the village do not like us driving tuk-tuks,\u201d says Jega. They tease us when we drive, and one even asked me to lower my fares, and verbally harassed me for securing their hires.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramani also tells me that a male driver asked her to stop the campaign because the men are losing their hires. Mothers feel it\u2019s more trustworthy to send their kids with a female driver,\u201d she says. We are women, driving for women.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Ramani and I talk, another driver pulls her pink tuk-tuk into the car park of the Rosie May Foundation office. When her husband died six years ago, Deepti Priyadarshani was left with no income. She worked many odd jobs, surviving on very little money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was a senior supervisor at a garment factory,\u201d says the 53-year-old. I couldn\u2019t work after my husband passed away\u2014leaving my daughter alone at home wasn\u2019t safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tourists
As time passes, many in Sri Lanka\u2019s tourism industry are looking forward to the tourists returning. Photo: Eddy Billard<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now, Deepti feels empowered by driving a tuk-tuk, which is still considered as man\u2019s job. She uses her income to help support her daughter\u2019s education, and supplements her wages by making tote bags and dresses for the volunteers who come to work at Rosie May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, since the Easter Sunday attacks, those volunteer numbers have dipped along with the tourist numbers, and Deepti is still finding it difficult to make ends meet. Rosie May gave me a good income, but there aren\u2019t many volunteers at the moment,\u201d she says. It has become very hard to pay for my daughter\u2019s A-Level tuition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka has always been favorite for travelers. And much of the country\u2019s economy, both at the national and domestic level, is dependent on tourism. As time passes, there\u2019s little doubt the tourists will return, and the women of the Think Pink Sri Lanka are looking forward to that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When tourism grows again, I hope I can talk to a few hotels and drive their guests in my tuk-tuk,\u201d says Nilani, her eyes bright, wide and sparkling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zinara Rathnayake Courtesy Adventure.com Tourist numbers to Sri Lanka took a huge dip in the wake of the Easter Sunday bombings, but that didn\u2019t stop these single mothers. Zinara Rathnayake visits Think Pink Sri Lanka, an inspiring new initiative that\u2019s putting women in the driver\u2019s seat. A salty coastal breeze and the usual early hour […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92694\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}