Reclaiming the City: Advancing Women's Mobility in Priya Guns's Your Driver is Waiting

Abstract The research paper aims to study the pattern of experience that differs for women and men in urban spaces, predominantly exploring women’s mobility beyond domestic confines and into the public realm of the city through the critical analysis of the novel Your Driver is Waiting by Priya Guns. The protagonist in Priya Guns’s debut novel is a mythic archetype constructing the predetermined narrative functions to pursue career paths within urban areas, making it essential to identify cities conducive to their needs and fostering their independence. In the neo-liberal globalized world, it becomes imperative to study the concept of marginalized and self-employed women breaking the stereotypical image of women, negotiating their spaces, eroding the regulatory framework through their struggles, navigating their path from being branded as incapable cab drivers to making bold choices in the cities and redefining urban space socially rather than as a merely physical entity. The paper, through textual analysis, will investigate how women reclaim the city through the central character of Damini by using the theoretical understanding provided by Leslie Kern in her book Feminist City. The study will analyze women’s visibility and navigation in the city, along with the challenges and repercussions faced by women drivers in the urban transportation industry. The paper aims to delve into the risks, fears, and anxieties inherent in driving in a city as well as other challenges such as limited wages and benefits within the transportation sector. Keywords: Urban women, gender-inclusive cities, women’s mobility, transportation.