Make It Safe For Women

MOBILITY IN CITIES FOR WOMEN HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED BY TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED SHARING.

- Ekta Chauhan

 

BEAMING OVER THE city in a metal tube on guided rails may not be new to Indians, what with the spread of metro services in different cities and their soaring popularity. But shorten that metal tube to accommodate just four to six people at a time and have them ferry in busy areas for short distances and you have a whole different set of parameters to consider in making an honest assessment.

According to a 2014 study by Thompson Reuters Foundation, sexual harassment on public transport is an increasing concern in cities across the globe. On a list of 16 most unsafe cities for women to travel by public transport, New Delhi was ranked fourth; most women categorised the city as least safe in terms of safety at night, and both verbal and physical abuse. The situation cannot be much better in other Indian cities. The same report also highlights that 5.5 million women enter the workforce each year in India and more than 50 per cent express high concerns about the safety of their commute.

One may ask, why transport and gender? According to a report by Dr Deike Peters under the aegis of UN-HABITAT, one also has to recognise that women’s travel patterns differ from men’s and these differences are characterised by deep and persistent inequalities. Within any given urban setting, women have less access to both private and public means of transport, while at the same time assuming a higher share of their household’s travel burden and making more trips associated with reproductive and caretaking responsibilities.