By The Women, For The Women, Pink Ambulance Service In Delhi Is Breaking The Gender Bias

New Delhi: “During the pandemic, we got a request for the ambulance service for a little girl who was extremely unwell. As always, my staff was sent with the ambulance. We got a call from the girl’s house asking if we had women drivers instead. It is then we realised that young girls and women don’t always feel comfortable around male drivers”, said Manjeet Kaur Shunty, President, Women Cell, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal. Delhi-based non-government organisation (NGO) Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal was established with the objective of saving lives by making emergency services accessible. During the pandemic, the organisation cremated over 4,000 bodies along with providing ambulance service, hearse van and mortuary boxes, among others. And now, breaking the gender bias, the organisation has started pink ambulance.

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On International Women’s Day (March 8) this year, pink ambulances, driven by women and managed by women were launched. It is for women patients to feel safer and more at ease at a time when they most need comfort.

Talking more about the initiative, Dr Jyot Jeet Shunty, Chairperson, Disaster Management Cell, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal, said,

A woman tends to open up emotionally more to a fellow female being. And in an ambulance, during a crisis, when a patient needs utmost care, comfort and consolation, what better than another woman providing emotional support. We first did 15 days trial and saved two lives. Following this, we launched Pink Ambulance service across Delhi.

As part of the initiative, four Pink Ambulances have been launched with four women drivers and attendants. The 24×7 service is currently available across Delhi-NCR for free.

The team behind Pink Ambulances of Delhi

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Lauding the women warriors in his team who are breaking the gender bias and shattering stereotypes, Dr Jitender Singh Shunty, President, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal and Padma Shri Awardee, said,

These were the women in our team who helped cremate dead bodies in Seemapuri, Delhi. When sons were refusing to cremate their fathers, we were the ones who stepped in. I salute these women drivers for their courage – nothing scares them, nothing deters them.

Pooja Bawa, Pink Ambulance Pilot believes if an individual has a skill set to offer their services, they should. She said,

If someone is in need of your services, and you have the skill for it, you should get involved. And that was our experience too. During the pandemic, we would go to pick up women patients as they didn’t feel safe around male staff members.

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Unnati Gupta, an entrepreneur got associated with Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal a year ago and is a Pink Ambulance Pilot. She informed that the women cell is creating awareness about Pink Ambulances by taking it to different colonies in Delhi. She said,

I am a woman and I can drive. By being part of the initiative, my goal is to ensure timely medical services to all women, at any hour of the day. Since my office is nearby, it is easier for me to juggle between driving an ambulance and managing work.

This initiative is not only empowering women but also breaking stereotypes of a male dominated profession. Every day is a women’s day for Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal. This unique initiative with pink ambulances driven by lady drivers and an all-women’s staff makes all the difference to women patients during their most difficult times of medical distress.

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NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity,  that is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.