Parvati Arya, Asia's First Woman Truck Driver, Passes Away At 75

Parvati Arya death: Asia's first woman truck driver, Parvati Arya, passed away on 17 November. She was 75 years old. Her name also figured in Guinness Book of World Records. She secured a driving license to become the first woman  truck driver in Asia in 1978.

Here's what you need to know about Parvati Arya

• She lived in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh.
• Besides becoming the first woman truck driver in Asia in 1978, she also joined the Congress party and won in Zila Panchayat elections twice.
• She had seven sisters and four brothers. She was the eldest among all. She grew up in abject poverty.
• She wasn't inclined towards studies, as per a report.
• Her father ran a timber business. He died when she was very young. Post that, she took up the responsibility of caring for her siblings.
• She was the eldest among her 11 siblings - seven sisters and four brothers. Born in a family that was knee-deep in poverty, Parvati was always averse to feminine tasks in a traditional family. Also, she had little to do with her studies.
• She started learning driving heavy vehicles because she didn't want to depend on a driver, she told TOI. However, it wasn't easy for her to get a license as convincing the officials at the RTO was a tough job. According to them, she was a woman but she felt that that couldn't be a reason to reject her application. "I told him that if Indira Gandhi can run the nation, why can't I drive a truck.", she had told them.
• When she was in a leadership position in Zila Panchayat, she constructed school buildings, Panchayat Bhawan, and roads.

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