Brac, one of the world’s largest development organisations, has awarded certificates to eleven women who successfully completed training at Brac Driving School and are now prepared to begin their careers as professional drivers.
These newly certified drivers are skilled and confident, ready to embark on their professional journeys—a transformation they attribute to their determination and Brac Driving School’s comprehensive, hands-on training.
They have also obtained their driving licences from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).
A graduation ceremony was held on Tuesday, at the BRTA headquarters to mark the occasion.
The event was attended by Mohammed Yasin, Chairman of BRTA, as the Chief Guest and was presided over by Ahmed Najmul Hussain, director of Brac's Road Safety Program.
The organisers said that the eleven women had undergone an intensive three-month residential training course at Brac Driving School.
The institution, equipped with modern facilities, offered both theoretical and practical driving lessons.
Additionally, participants received English language training and attended awareness sessions on gender and safeguarding.
In his address, Mohammed Yasin expressed his appreciation to Brac for this initiative and congratulated the newly trained female drivers.
He emphasized their potential to contribute to national economic development as skilled human resources while helping reduce gender-based violence and harassment on roads.
To facilitate their employment, BRTA will publish the profiles and contact information of these female drivers on its official website.
The chairman also pledged to take tangible steps toward fostering a more inclusive and supportive environment for women in the transport sector.
This includes the installation of women-friendly facilities such as hygienic washrooms at major bus terminals and along highways.
Ahmed Najmul Hussain highlighted that although a person typically requires only twelve hours of practical driving experience to qualify as a driver, each participant had completed nearly one hundred hours of training and driven over 1,200km.
Following their initial training, the women joined Brac’s Transport Department and undertook an additional three-month apprenticeship under the supervision of senior drivers.
Md Saiful Alam, secretary general of the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association (BRTOA) and Abdur Rahim Dudu, president of the Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation (BRTWF), were also present along with other guests.
They praised Brac’s efforts to develop professional female drivers and expressed their willingness to collaborate in advancing this initiative.
Ishrat Jahan Soniya, one of the newly trained drivers, said that alongside driving skills, they had learned manners, etiquette and many other competencies that fully prepared them for the profession.
She expressed eagerness to receive support in securing suitable employment.
Since 2001, Brac’s Road Safety Program has worked to enhance road safety through community awareness and training initiatives.
The program addresses gender-based violence and harassment in public transport by building awareness, developing the capacities of transport operators and association leaders and strengthening reporting and response mechanisms.
It also advocates for policy reforms to improve road safety.
To date, the program has provided safe road use training to 1.362 million general road users, 5,25,000 students and 5,600 teachers across the country.
Established in 2012, Brac Driving School has trained 12,329 individuals as commercial drivers, provided basic training to 10,621 drivers and produced 3,462 trained female drivers.
Additionally, 2,802 people have received motorcycle training and 384 individuals have been trained as driving instructors.