Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India celebrates International Women’s Day

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) celebrated the spirit of womanhood on the occasion of International Women’s Day by holding several initiatives across the country yesterday.

To mark the occasion, it felicitated 1,200 female riders at its eight traffic parks across India yesterday. In a press release, the company said “day-long festivities were in full-swing at all of Honda’s 8 Traffic Training Parks in Chandigarh, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Yeola (Nashik), Hyderabad and two in Delhi. More than 1,200 women riders, who had learnt riding at these training-parks, were felicitated on the occasion.”

HMSI has conducted its training program covering theoretical and practical sessions for more than 15,000 women riders at its traffic parks over the last three years. This initiative, according to the company, comes under Honda’s exclusive women empowerment program called Dream Riding. This is a unique platform in which women can learn how to ride a two-wheeler in a single day from trained Honda female instructors in a specially designed four-hour module.

The company is known to have recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation for its traffic training park. HMSI’s official release also said that among other activities organised yesterday to mark the occasion it had arranged engagement activities such as road safety quiz and safety slogan competitions for women riders.

Honda also organised a ‘Nationwide Safety Pledge Drive’ by installing pledge flexes within the premises of all its manufacturing plants, corporate offices, dealerships, secondary networks, authorized spare and service outlets and at the stockists. The company reported a commendable response from its staffers and customers.

Enabling 450 women with livelihood training

Taking its initiatives to a bigger social scale, Honda is known to be running women empowerment programs that include its two month course of imparting vocational skills at its vocational training-cum-livelihood centres at Gurgaon (CRPF Campus, Kadarpur) and in Gujarat (Bahucharaji, Mandal taluka).

According to HMSI, it has so far helped more than 450 females in developing specific vocational skills including stitching and tailoring, soft toy and candle making and others at these centres. These Vocational Training-cum-Livelihood centres, which comes under a 100 percent women friendly initiative with only female staff, are known to be equipped with necessary infrastructure supported by Honda.

Every individual who successfully completes the said two-month course is then awarded with a certificate by National Skills Development Council (NSDC).

Commenting on the occasion, Yadvinder S Guleria, senior vice-president (sales & marketing), HMSI, said, “On the International Women’s Day, we are celebrating the rising empowerment amongst woman of today. At Honda, we believe that achieving independence of mobility is crucial to securing the future. When you empower a woman, you empower a family. Through Honda’s Dream Riding Initiatives and other long-term vocational training modules at our 8 traffic-training parks, our women safety-instructors have helped more than 15,000 women realise their dreams of mobility and independent livelihood in last 2-3 years.”