Meet Arti, E-Rickshaw Driver From UP's Bahraich Who Won UK's Royal Award, Met King Charles III

Arti arrived at the Buckingham Palace reception in a pink rickshaw, demonstrating the vehicle's potential as a sustainable form of transportation.

Image: Twitter

A e-rickshaw driver from a village in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district, who is eighteen years old, was ecstatic to meet King Charles III at Buckingham Palace this week after winning a prestigious award for women's empowerment in London. Following her meeting with the 75-year-old monarch on Wednesday, Arti accepted the Amal Clooney Women's Empowerment Award, which bears the name of the well-known human rights attorney, at the Prince's Trust Awards in London.

"I am proud to be able to inspire other girls who face similar challenges. This newfound independence has helped me see the world in a different light. Now, I can fulfil not only my own dreams, but also those of my daughter," news agency PTI quoted Arti as saying.

"It has been an incredible experience to meet the King, who was so nice and sent his namaste to my family back home. He also listened carefully as I explained how much I enjoy driving my E-rickshaw, which does not run on polluting diesel or petrol," she said in Hindi.

The Prince's Trust International, founded by King Charles as the Prince of Wales, will now be known as the King's Trust International as it continues to support young people in 20 countries through employment, education, and enterprise programmes. The Prince's Trust Women's Empowerment Award honours the global efforts of young women who have overcome adversity to make a positive difference in the lives of those around them.

Meet this year’s @KingsTrustInt, Amal Clooney Women’s Empowerment winner, Arti!

After taking part in AKF’s Project Lehar, Arti has become one of the first female pink e-rickshaw drivers in Uttar Pradesh, India, providing safe transport for other women in her community! pic.twitter.com/dfM4gkOlJ9

— Aga Khan Foundation India (@AKF_India) May 22, 2024

Who Is Arti?

Arti (18) is one of the first woman pink e-ricksaw driver who hails from Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich. She has a five-year-old daughter for whom she purchased cake and shoes on her first trip to London. Through her work with the government's Pink E-rickshaw initiative, which offers safe transportation for other women on a mission to literally drive change, she was recognised for inspiring other young girls. She arrived at Buckingham Palace in a pink rickshaw, demonstrating that it is not only a sustainable mode of transportation, but also an idea and a movement. The district administration of Bahraich offered pink e-rickshaws with a subsidy for female drivers as part of an inventive scheme.

In July 2023, Arti was introduced to the Pink E-Rickshaw programme of the Indian government by Project Lehar, in association with Prince's Trust International and the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF). The program's objective is to enhance women's economic opportunities and promote their empowerment nationwide. 

The programme intends to help vulnerable women find work—widows and single mothers like Arti in particular—and to make safe transportation more accessible to them so they can be more mobile and independent.