In the second installment of the Autoqueen Trilogy, we revisit Mohana Sundari, a thirty-nine-year-old woman living in Tamil Nadu in southern India. Mohana is part of a small but growing group of women driving auto rickshaws in the capital city of Chennai. Part One traced Mohana’s vivid childhood memories, and in Part Two her story moves into adulthood — through marriage, motherhood, financial struggle, and personal loss.
Through it all, Mohana challenges the limitations placed on women. She continually finds ways to reclaim her power as she works to build a future for herself and her daughter — on her own terms. Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform.
Content Advisory: This episode includes references to domestic violence and sexual assault.
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This episode was produced in partnership with Empowering Communities Through Education (ECTE). ECTE leads grassroots, worker-centered initiatives that use education, research, and storytelling to support economic justice and civic transformation in Chennai. At the heart of ECTE’s mission is a commitment to organizing women workers in the informal sector — an often-overlooked majority in India’s labor force.
While Tamil Nadu is celebrated for having the largest share of women in the formal manufacturing sector, this progress narrative eclipses the lived experiences of the vast majority of women workers laboring in informal and unorganized sectors. ECTE equips these workers with tools to build worker-owned cooperatives, shape impact media, and advocate for inclusive policy change.
In partnership with the Alliance for Community Empowerment (ACE), ECTE played an instrumental role in the formation of the Veera Pengal Munnetra Sangam (VPMS) union and cooperative. Beginning in January 2023, ECTE and ACE worked closely with women auto drivers on the ground, helping bring members together, build relationships and trust, and support the organizing process through to the successful formation of the union and cooperative.
Related links
Autoqueen Trilogy, Part I
ECTE on Instagram
Veera Pengal Munnetra Sangam on Instagram
Re:Work on Instagram
UCLA Labor Center website
ECTE website
Veera Pengal Munnetra Sangam (VPMS) website
The Hindu – Women auto drivers from Chennai who took IIM by storm (video)
The Hindu – Breaking barriers: Chennai auto driver wins Kamla Bhasin Award for gender equality
The Hindu – Meet the ‘Auto Queens’: This Tamil documentary highlights Chennai’s women auto drivers