Do you think women are better drivers than men, or do you think otherwise? Take a look at the conversation happening on X below.
A BBC News Punjabi video highlighting the growing trend of women riding scooters in Punjab has sparked a rather unexpected debate on X. The video featured women who said that riding scooters had made them less dependent on others for commuting, with a group called ‘Girls on Scooti’ encouraging more women to take to the roads.
In response to the post, former federal minister Fawad Chaudhary said, “Most of the girls are horrible drivers” and that women should not be motivated to use bikes since such actions can put their lives and those of people around them at risk. His statements have shifted the discussion towards the broader issue of whether women are really bad drivers, or if it is just another stereotype against women drivers.
There is certainly a road safety problem in Pakistan, but the available data does not support such a straightforward gender-based conclusion. Research on road traffic fatalities in Karachi has consistently found that men make up the overwhelming majority of recorded road accident deaths. A study covering Karachi from 2007 to 2014 found that 87.7% of recorded road traffic fatalities were male. Another study covering 2015 recorded 85.3% male fatalities.
At the same time, these figures do not prove that men are inherently worse drivers, just as they cannot prove that women are better drivers. Men and women differ significantly in how frequently they drive, what vehicles they use and how much they are exposed to traffic, so accident statistics need to be interpreted in that context. What they do show is that road safety is a much broader issue than simply blaming one gender.
For many women, being able to ride a scooter is more than just traveling from point A to point B; it is also about being independent enough to get to work, university or an appointment without needing to rely on their father, brother, husband, or other family members for a ride. For women who live in a country that makes it difficult for them to travel freely, teaching them how to ride safely gives them more freedom in handling their day-to-day life situations.
This is when the female drivers entered the fray. Following Fawad’s comment going viral, users started raising concerns about the grounds upon which one could say that “most women” are bad drivers, with many bringing up their own experiences with male motorists and Pakistan’s wider road safety culture.
Take a look at the conversation happening on X below.
What do you think? Share your thoughts on women riding scooters in the city below!
