PESHAWAR – People were caught by surprise when they first saw a skinny young girl driving a motorized three-wheeled Chingchi rickshaw.But Wajeeha, 9, from Tangi Town in Charsadda, is the country’s first female rickshaw driver. And after their initial surprise, bystanders soon realised Wajeeha was quite strong. Now most of the local populace supports her for her extraordinary bravery in supporting her family.
“Nobody told me to drive a rickshaw or do any other work,” Wajeeha said confidently, kicking off the vehicle with her old blue chappal (sandal). “But I realised because of my father’s health I should help him, so I learned to drive the rickshaw.”
Wajeeha, clad in old blue clothes and a golden shawl, is a primary student at a local school. After school, she and her father take passengers from a nearby stand.
Inam-ur- Rahman, a Frontier Corps veteran and Wajeeha’s father, was injured fighting militants in Swat. Now he receives retirement pay from the Corps. It wasn’t enough to support his family, so he purchased a three-wheeler, intending to use it as a cab.
Although disabled now, Inam never sought help from his young daughter, but she took it upon herself to do so.
She has no plan to quit her studies. Her only concern is that she lacks time to play with friends, since she stays in school until afternoon and carries passengers until evening.
“I was stunned when I saw the young lady driving a vehicle with six persons aboard quite professionally,” said Tariq Waheed, a local journalist. “I was surprised that such a scrawny young girl can do it, but she was doing it without any mistakes.”
Locals are impressed that the girl is supporting her father.
“Yes, it is a fact that under the international laws, she should not work,” said Kamal Zafar, a Tangi Town resident. “But I think she should better work and continue her studies rather than have her family beg.”
Another woman drives a cab in Islamabad, but Wajeeha is the first female to operate a three-wheeler. Other distinctions are that she is only 9 and works in the most conservative town in the province, where women working is discouraged.