Shareen Bibi and her team of 5 women run Pakistan’s 1st all-women ambulance service named ‘Maseeha.’ It is sponsored by a non-governmental organisation called Saving 9.
The founder, Saima Syed said, “When we started an ambulance service we had 4 men working for us. Female patients would refuse service from them because of ‘moral values.’ Then we started hiring female staff.’
About Maseeha:
The team belongs to Pind Begwal, a village that has been restricted due to poor infrastructure. It is located around 20 miles from Islamabad’s capital city. Access to healthcare facilities is one of the challenges the locals frequently encounter. In an interview with VOA Urdu News, Shareen Bibi shared how people were against ‘women drivers.’
Why it matters:
A man named Muhammad Aqib shared his experience with the service as well, “Masiha ambulance is within the vicinity of our village which is why they reach faster. Previously, we had to wait for an ambulance for 25 minutes. The patients would sometimes die during the commute.”
Since its inception at the tail end of 2018, this project has saved many lives. For around 40 minutes, ambulance driver Shareen Bibi travels across uneven and damaged roads to deliver the patient to hospitals in the city.
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