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Shipra Nayyar, Business Development Advisor, Shell Foundation, says only 11 percent of all drivers in the country are women. But that is changing as a number of social enterprises have started focusing on women - both as passengers as well as owner-drivers of commercial vehicles.

An architect by profession and a motorcyclist by passion, Jai is a staunch supporter of women relying on mobility to support themselves. At a biking expedition from Hyderabad to Vietnam, Jai saw employment opportunities that existed for women if they could ride two/three-wheelers – something uncommon in India.

Moving Borders Tour which went on for more than 40 days was organised by the MOWO in association with Shell Foundation and the UK government and aimed to raise awareness about gender-inclusive mobility and encourage more women to pick up the skill of driving.

Today, Ms Bharathi reached Udaipur on the current leg of her tour. Starting from Hyderabad, she has covered Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Goa, Pune, Mumbai, Surat, Ahmedabadand would now be coveringJaipur, Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh, New Delhi, Lucknow, Varanasi, Patna, Guwahati, Kolkata, Ranchi, Bhubaneshwar, among others.

Who Is Jai Bharathi? She is an architect and an avid biker who is on a mission to encourage more women to learn driving, be self reliant and use this skill to increase their chances of getting employed and earn a livelihood. She has been riding across 20 cities on her bike.

MoWo founder Jai Bharathi and Minister for Women and Child Welfare Satyavathi Rathod at the launch of ‘Women Motor Training Centre’ in Hyderabad.

Hyderabad-based Bikerni Jai Bharati Addepalli who has founded MoWo Social Initiatives plans to empower one million (10 lakh) MoWo-ians not just in India but also other countries in Asia and Africa.

Under this campaign, Jai Bharathi, founder of MOWO is touring India on her motorbike from October 11th for a period of over 40 days and coveringover 20 cities to create awareness and encourage women to learn driving to increase their jobopportunities. Today, Ms Bharathi reached Kolkata on the current leg of her tour.

It’s one thing to be a superbiker and cruise cross-country, and another to teach women to pick up driving as a life skill. Jai Bharathi would know this well.

VIJAYAWADA: Jai Bharathi, a Hyderabad-based bike rider, who is on a mission to encourage women to pick up driving skills so that they can have more employment opportunities, arrived in Vijayawada on Thursday after covering more than 11,000 kilometres across the country.

She is a woman on the wheels travelling across the country with the mission of encouraging women to learn and excel in driving skills for improving their employment opportunities. Meet Jai Bharathi, a biker who is based in Hyderabad has already covered more than 11,000 kilometres before she reached Vijayawada yesterday.