The Meaning of Headlines: 'out of the red'

The Meaning of Headlines: 'out of the red' - business

Dawn published an article on October 2, 2015, with the headline ‘Zeenat Gari: An initiative to drive women out of the red.’ What does ‘out of the red’ mean?

In business terms, to be ‘in the red’ is to be in debt, to owe money, to be non-profitable. It is the opposite of ‘in the black’ – to be in the money, profitable, doing well financially. The terms ‘in the red’ and ‘in the black’ were thought to originate in America at the introduction of the practice of bookkeeping or accounting, according to wordwizard. Debts were entered (in writing) in the accounting books, or ledgers, in red ink. Red was to indicated ‘danger’ of falling behind financially. Therefore to be ‘out of the red’ is to be out of debt.

The headline introduces an article about the unique initiative ‘Zeenat Gari’ in Lahore, Pakistan. Often spelled gaari, zeenat gari means ‘beautiful car’ in Urdu. It is a women-run rickshaw service aimed to help female drivers earn money, thereby getting out of debt. A local NGO, Seed Out, launched the initiative to help women start their own businesses. Typically rickshaw owners and drivers are men, and the initiative was introduced to help women become financially independent and also for security for female passengers. The article mentions the unique gadgets in the Zeenat Gari, such as wi-fi and cooling fans. The Zeenat Gari rickshaws are all painted cream and red.

Scorecard for the Dawn headline is 100%. The headline, for extra emphasis, added that the initiative was to ‘drive’ women ‘out of the red’ – a reference to rickshaw driving. ‘Out of the red’ not only refers to getting out of debt, but also to the bright red colour of the Zeenat Gari rickshaws.

http://images.dawn.com/news/1173949/zeenat-gari-an-initiative-to-drive-women-out-of-the-red

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