16 Women Drive India to Thailand in All-Female Convoy

Anupreeti Ajit More never imagined herself behind the wheel of a car, let alone driving across international borders. Growing up in India, she assumed the driver's seat simply wasn't meant for women.

That changed when she met Sujal Patwardhan and Medha Joseph, two friends who bonded over travel during their MBA studies in Pune in 1999. They shared a simple belief: stepping out into the world changes you.

In 2015, Sujal and Medha drove from Hyderabad to Morocco, covering more than 23,000 kilometers in 57 days. The epic journey showed them how few Indians, especially women, experienced the freedom of self-drive travel.

They returned to India on August 1, 2015, with a clear mission. Just over two months later, they registered Embarq Motorworld, a company dedicated to organizing safe, empowering road expeditions.

As more women joined their trips, one request kept surfacing. Women weren't asking to travel separately from men, they were asking for safety and the freedom to explore on their own terms.

Sujal and Medha planned every detail meticulously. Before each expedition, they personally checked routes, vetted hotels, inspected fuel stations, and confirmed rest stops so participants could focus entirely on driving with confidence.

For Anupreeti, just 80 kilometers was enough to transform her life. She had only recently learned to drive and joined one of their trips despite her fears.

"With Sujal guiding me, my fear disappeared," she says. "That drive became a memory I will always carry."

In January 2019, Embarq organized its first all-women self-drive expedition from India to Thailand. Sixteen women set off together, navigating foreign roads, changing tires, and proving they could handle every challenge the journey threw at them.

Why This Inspires

The expedition wasn't just about reaching Thailand. It was about women discovering capabilities they didn't know they had.

"Every time a woman drives further than she imagined, every time she laughs freely or trusts her instincts, I feel that all our work matters," Sujal says. Each kilometer became proof that confidence wasn't something these women lacked, it was something they'd never been given space to build.

For Anupreeti, the biggest transformation came after she returned home. "I realized I am capable of more than I ever thought," she says.

The road gave her more than driving skills. It gave her the courage to live life on her own terms, make her own decisions, and trust herself completely.

Today, Embarq continues organizing expeditions that help women reclaim the driver's seat, both literally and in their lives.