Mariyamma is Kerala’s first woman ambulance driver

One more male bastion comes down. Until now ambulances across Kerala have been driven by men. Mariyamma Varkey from Thiruvambadi has rewritten the books and became the first woman ambulance driver in Kerala.

She is the ambulance driver of Thiruvambadi Lisa Palliative Care Centre and she is now a star among the thousands of male ambulance drivers.

This area has always been a male preserve and women had shied away from it until Mariyamma took to the wheels. She became a member of Ambulance Owners and Drivers Association (AODA) recently. The membership is the key to Mariyamma’s footing in the region.

There are over AODA 140 members in Kozhikode district and 3,500 members all over Kerala.

AODA district secretary Reji Jose promised all help to Mariyamma and he also wished that Mariyamma would inspire more women to enter this male-dominated area.