The Garden City has decided not to follow in the footsteps of the capital when it comes to the Metro rail
The Garden City has decided not to follow in the footsteps of the capital when it comes to the Metro rail. Recently, the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) announced that it has no plans of introducing coaches exclusively for women once the Metro begins plying on Reach-1 between Byappanahalli and MG Road in a few weeks.
However, this decision has evoked strong reactions from women and activists across the city. They claim that by not reserving a coach for women, the authorities are endangering the safety of women passengers. As an example, the protesters cite the example of buses that reserve the seats for women. But for a state that promises equality and a society that claims to be cultured, why do we need a separate coach for women?
Why can't a woman be confident of travelling any time of the day and not be subjected to lecherous looks?
There are many, who believe that India as a nation should not encourage any discrimination based on gender.
Reserved seats in public transports, according to them should only be for old citizens, children, pregnant women and differently abled people. They say special coaches for the fairer sex will not prevent eve teasing, one of the many reasons cited for the need of them. The BMRCL has assured that it will install closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras and policemen will be present at stations to help in case a woman complains of any kind of discomfort while travelling in these general coaches. Then, should we have guards deployed in front of each coach to maintain law and order? CCTVs may record the harassment but cannot stop it. Also, whether policing will curb eve teasing remains a question.
But why is there discussion at all about special coaches? In a so-called cultured and civilised society, why can we not expect decorum to be maintained while both sexes travel in the same coach? Why can't a woman be confident of travelling any time of the day and not be be subjected to lecherous looks and lewd comments coming our way?
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It is indeed encouraging to see that Karnataka decides not to discriminate between men and women and treat them equally by introducing general coaches. But does that ensure the same level of comfort for both genders?
However, for a state, which in the past has recorded incidents of women being beaten and assaulted in pubs, we wonder if we are really ready for general coaches in public transports? The authorities should probably conduct sessions on values and behaviour to make sure that women feel safe while travelling with their male
counterparts.
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