Pink is not readily associated with grit, determination and courage. But this is the story of Shanti Lakra, one of 200 female auto drivers in Ranchi. The pink autos were introduced in Ranchi in 2013 after the brutal gangrape of Jyothi Singh in Delhi as a means of ensuring safer public transport for women. Shanti was abandoned by her husband and is the sole breadwinner for her small family consisting of her two children and herself. The training camp for female auto drivers was held close to her children’s school. Even though people around her expressed skepticism about her ability to drive or even the utility of learning to drive for a housewife, Shanti pushed on. Today her determination has borne fruit. She is putting her daughters through school and hopes to see them as successful self-reliant women. The autos have not only ensured safer public transport for women but also pushed individuals like her into what was essentially a male dominated profession, dismantling gender stereotypes.