The AAP Delhi state government has announced free travel on metro and buses for women who cannot afford it. How exactly will this lead to safer travel for women?
Everyone is talking about the Delhi government’s move to make metro and bus travel free for women.
No actually, everyone is talking about the metro part.
We, the upper middle-class intellectuals don’t really care about what happens to the buses, as we don’t really take the bus too often.
So, as a woman who has lived in Delhi for all 21 years of her life, I’ll leave my two cents here. I won’t be using any statistics or scientific research. I’ll be talking solely from my own experiences.
Delhi is a safer place right now than it has been for the longest time. Most of the DTC buses have police constables in them as of now, for the safety of the passengers. CCTV cameras will be put on all DTC buses starting from June, and the process will be completed by the month of November. There are several ladies special buses that function in the more crowded routes during office hours. I don’t know how many routes, but I myself have seen and travelled in several ladies special buses.
The government is trying. You cannot make a city like Delhi safe in a single day. It’s a long process.
Now, let’s come to the point. Should metro and bus travel really be free for all women? I do not know. What I do know is that when Atishi said that women were the worst affected section after the metro fare hike, she wasn’t lying or speculating.
I know this because I started taking the bus a lot after the fare hike. Because if a day’s travel would cost me ₹80 if I took the metro, it costs me only ₹30 when I take the bus.
Now, you’d say that they have already made the DTC buses safe, so what’s the problem in that?
See, there are a lot of feeder buses, private buses, shared autos, and grameen sewa autos that run in various routes across the city. Unlike DTC, these modes of transport are not easy to monitor. I often have to take feeder buses, and I know, from personal experience, how unsafe they are. I cannot even count the number of times I have been molested in a private bus.
Is metro safer? Yes.
Is it always affordable for me? No.
And I am someone who has a job with a decent salary. If I cannot afford to always take the metro, I refuse to believe that I’m the only one.
When you say that “Everyone can afford the metro fare,” you reek of elitism. When you say “Why don’t you make other modes of travel safer?” you reek of elitism, because you want poor women to stick to their poor modes of transport. You don’t want them to to invade your space; yes, your space, that’s what you’ve assumed the metro to be. How many working class women do you see traveling in the metro on a regular basis? I won’t believe you if you answer this question with “a lot”.
While this might not be all we need, this is a welcome move that would help women to travel safely. Like reservation, the number of women who unnecessarily benefit from this move is much much lower than the number of women who actually need it.
Author bio: Ditsa Bhattacharya is a feminist and a poet who moonlights as a journalist in her free time. When she is not buried in a pile of books, she likes educating men about gender issues.
A version of this was first published on the author’s Facebook wall.
Image source: YouTube
Guest Bloggers are those who want to share their ideas/experiences, but do not have a profile here. Write to us at [email protected] if you have a special situation (for e.g. want read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, indivisual posts do not necessarily represent the platofrom's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
Hiding family issues to patriarchy, 'House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths' throws a light on several problematic aspects within the typical Indian family.
The spine-chilling Burari deaths that happened in 2018 were brought to light again with the Netflix series ‘House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths’. The eleven member Chundawat family were like any other middle class family who had been living in the neighborhood for the last twenty years. They also had a grocery and plywood shop in the same vicinity.
Rajeev Tomar the policeman who entered the Burari house after the incident, stated that he had never seen a scene like this in his entire career and the visuals still haunt him. He was in shock to see the entire family hanging with their hands tied and their eyes covered. The documentary mentions that there were 11 diaries that were found with various other notes that further deepened the mystery surrounding the deaths.
Jivuben, who became a mother at 70, travelled 150 kms twice a month for IVF procedures. It's a miracle, but there are Qs like who will raise the child as he grows?
After struggling to conceive for almost 45 years, Jivuben Rabari became a mother at 70! She welcomed her child through C-section in the eight month of pregnancy.
Jivunben who is reportedly 70 years old and her husband who is 75 hail from Kutch in the state of Gujarat. They had been struggling to have their own baby since four decades and were unsuccessful. They finally were able to have their child through IVF (In vitro fertilization).
Mumbai's public transport system has deteriorated so much in terms of the infrastructure and the crowds, and regular commutes have become a nightmare for women and for those with a disability!
Mumbai’s public transport system has deteriorated so much in terms of the infrastructure and the crowds, and regular commutes have become a nightmare for women and for those with a disability!
A smart girl from my institution who grappled with a disability, would have liked to pursue further studies and go out to work, but the buses on the routes she required had been decimated. Trains were not accessible to her as the infrastructure was not inclusive, with no ramps at most of the places. It was not possible for her to climb the long flight of stairs, and boarding the train too was risky due to the gap between the platform and the train. With no means of economic empowerment, she found her life to be dependent, unless her middle class parents were willing to shell huge amounts on private taxis.
We all talk about the safety of women in public places. But what do we do to ensure it? Maybe the answer lies in women reclaiming the public spaces.
We talk about women’s safety in public spaces. And to keep a woman safe we ask her to keep away from the public spaces and ask her to stay at home. The fear of the other is instilled since childhood. But won’t public spaces be really safe, if it has more women in it.