A Woman's day in Delhi - Struggling for equality in India
By Myla Green
New Delhi - At each stop on the super modern and fancy-looking Delhi Metro, the recording of a male voice announces the name of the stop and implores passengers to give up their seat for the elderly, physically disabled people, and ladies. Upon hearing each announcement, I promptly rolled my eyes, and looked around at the other women on the train, wondering if they felt similar annoyance at this condescending comparison.
The buses are not exempt from this type of policy, either. The buses in India can be dangerous; sometimes one has to jump on or off the bus during what couldn't quite qualify in the States as a rolling stop. Buses in Delhi are constantly in the paper for running people over, or having people die as a result of speeding up as people are trying to jump aboard. The Hyderabad local buses have two entrances, both on the left side: the one in front for women, the one in back for men. The rationale is that the woman's door is safer, presumably because the driver can see when people have finished climbing into / exiting the bus, and can see if women are getting harassed.
When crowded, sometimes one cannot even get off the bus when desired because it is impossible to get through the crowd. Roughly half of the seats towards the front of the bus are reserved for ladies: sometimes they are marked with signs; on other buses it is simply practiced, despite lack of signs. The first two rows on the left front side of the bus are reserved for elderly and physically disabled persons. Although men are supposed to enter the bus and sit in the back 2/3s of the bus, "Sometimes a man will be standing near the driver at the front acting as if they want to get down at the next stop, but the intention will be different", says Subhalakshmi, an administrative assistant.
In my Introduction to Women's Studies course at Illinois Wesleyan University, my professor Dr. Shimizu, posed the question: If we could achieve equality, would you be willing to give up certain perks? If we could have equal pay and not fear rape and domestic abuse, would we be willing to part with free entry to clubs on "ladies night" and the custom of men paying for dates? She said that in order to achieve equality both parties need to be willing to part with certain aspects of their privilege.
If we had to give up reserved for women bus seats and insulting loudspeaker Metro announcements in exchange for someone guaranteeing that women would not having to face harassment or "eve teasing" in buses and in public, I would unquestionably agree that seat reservation based on sex category should be abolished. But one will not simply result from the other: Giving up bus seat reservation will not make it so women can travel by bus without fear - it might inadvertently have the opposite effect, and cause women to travel less due to fear of sexual harassment, or "eve teasing", which is prevalent in India's extremely crowded buses. Changing laws and regulations is a necessary part of implementing social change, but does not cause social change in itself.
In India, there are many sex-segregated aspects of daily life: single-sex security lines at malls and temples, cooking, working, eating, childcare, driving, behavior in public, dress. Some of them seem frivolous and serve to reinforce traditional gender roles; many seem limiting to women while enhancing freedoms of men. This type of policy is often grounded in ideals that render women weak and therefore offer them special treatment because we require protection.
However, the harassment faced in the buses may be a good reason for women's groups to fight to keep this same-sex institution. Kranthi, an NGO worker from Hyderabad, has experienced harassment in the buses during her daily journey to and from work. She says: "One problem is there, usually on crowded buses but also sometimes less. Men passengers will look, touch, rub, or elbow women's body parts." She believes that the segregated buses encourages women to travel by making them feel more safe.
Indian women say that buses are perhaps the place where they face the most harassment from men. There are less women out in public compared with men, so although they might need less seats reserved (or none at all), a measure like that might ensure women would feel more safe to ride the bus and feel safe going out in public. Admittedly, I like that when I enter a bus, I am often given a seat. As the only white person in any given Hyderabadi bus (unless my roommates are with me), I attract a range of stares when I am on the bus, and standing at the front of the bus invites an audience of curious, amused, confused, and creepy looks. My NGO is currently working with the bus department to ensure that reserving bus seats for women is practiced. Evidently they feel it is an important women's issue.
