The word "rickshaw" is a translation from the Japanese for "human-powered vehicle." The first Asian nation to employ a vehicle for passenger transportation was Japan in the 19th century. Traditionally, men are hired to pull rickshaws. Some Japanese women are enticed to the job through social media. And as a result, they now have a sizable local and global fan base.

According to Ryuta Nishio, president of Tokyo Rickshaw, "the first girl who joined was cool." Many girls have followed and joined us after we uploaded videos of her on social media. According to Nishio, he wants to provide a setting where women can participate and feel comfortable. On their feet, rickshaw drivers don distinctive, traditional clothes. No matter the weather, the pullers run or walk an average of 20 kilometers every day. “We treat both male and female pullers completely equally,” Nishio said. “The women say they want to be treated the same as the men, and in fact, many of them are way tougher.”

This altogether shatters various gender stereotypes wherein across the globe people are getting inspired to say out loud  “No job is too hard for a woman“.  Thanks to the inevitable superpowers of social media which allow the widespread of this particular igniting message to target audiences and influences positively their gender roles perspective.

Encircled By Cars: Yuka Akimoto is one of a handful of female rickshaw pullers in Tokyo-she says, "People usually think that pulling rickshaws is a job for men, but I think it's a wonderful job that women can shine in as well. Every day I work like this with a smile. It's a really fun job."

I feel that this initiative significantly lights up numerous women's issues by debunking various myths regarding gender roles.