Free public transport for women splits Delhi public
Print Edition
Delhi鈥檚 pledge to make public transport free for women split opinion in India yesterday, with supporters hoping it entices more women into work and detractors calling it a sexist gimmick.
In a nation of rapid economic change, more women study for careers but many remain housebound, with safety concerns highlighted by the gang rape of a woman on a Delhi bus in 2012. Seeking to accelerate change, Delhi鈥檚 Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday that his government plans to make its state-run bus and metro network free for women in coming months.
鈥淧ublic transport is the safest for women and keeping that in mind, the government had decided that ... all buses and the metro will be made free for women,鈥 Kejriwal said.
Detractors called the plan 鈥渞idiculous鈥 in a flurry of posts on social media, saying it was a cheap attempt to win votes before Delhi goes votes in 2020.
Supporters called the plan 鈥渞evolutionary鈥 and a fillip for activists seeking to advance women鈥檚 standing across society.
鈥淭his is a great idea. Any space that has a larger number of women becomes safer for women,鈥 said Shilpa Phadke, a co-author of 鈥淲hy Loiter,鈥 which detailed the risks women face in public spaces and led to a street campaign of the same name.
鈥淒omestic workers who used public transport earlier either walk now or share a ride in an auto rickshaw ... When there is affordable and accessible transport, opportunities expand,鈥 Phadke said.
Of 402 million Indians in the workforce, 127 million are women, according to the country鈥檚 2011 census data.
Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi Party swept to power in 2015 partly on the promise of improved women鈥檚 safety, said the plan would be implemented in two to three months.
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