Mobility of women in Metropolitan areas

In metropolitan cities, people move around for various reasons like work, shopping, leisure etc. The mode of transportation they choose for these trips depends on the income group they fall in. These people comprise of both men and women who travel in buses, metro, auto rickshaws, etc. to reach their destination. Increasingly, we find that there have been many instances of crime against women in the cities and we observe that most of these crimes have taken place during travelling or moving in the city. Such an insecure environment for women in moving from one place to the other shall hamper the overall concept of urban mobility which envisages free movement for all sections and groups of the society.This section of the paper shall be written from a feminist stand point and shall try to address the key concerns of movement of women in cities. 

Women commuters in Delhi Metro
  
Source: Gulf News (Dated 21st November, 2010. Accessed on http://gulfnews.com/news/world/india/delhi-to-get-tough-with-men-travelling-in-women-s-coach-1.714940)

In a strict patriarchal society that we live in, cases of women being harassed and molested in buses and trains have become common news items. The notion of women as a category, holding a systematically inferior position on all spheres of life, is disturbing. The recent Nirbhaya case in New Delhi rocked up the whole nation by the sheer brutality of men against a fellow human being. Women are being treated as mere objects.

A recent news excerpt from The Hindu stated that there has been an increase in the crimes against women in trains. The article further states that more than 200 cases, including rape, molestation and misbehavior were reported last year. A total 210 such cases were registered in 2012 against 127 cases in 2011. The numbers have gone up in the last three years in all forms of crime like rape, molestation and misbehavior against women (Source: The Hindu, Crimes against women on the rise in trains, Accessed on http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/crimes-against-women-on-the-rise-in-trains/article4520556.ece, 18th March, 2013). This trend is similar in other modes of vehicles as well. There have been several reports of rapes in moving cars with tinted windows, molestation and eve teasing cases on streets by persons on motor – cycles and cases or misbehavior, eve teasing and molestation are equally common in buses and metros. All the women folk, teenagers, youth, middle aged and even the elderly are equally harassed while commuting from one part to the other in a metropolis.

The reasons for such atrocities can be very briefly identified as the following (this is not exhaustive but a starting point):

• Lack of reporting of rape and assault cases: There is a severe stigma attached with coming out of the family or society and filing a case as the process is cumbersome and harassing. Women do not feel secure in confiding with the police. 
• Gaps within law enforcement agencies: Delay in swift action against crime and severe lack of sensitivity towards the issue. Gaps in the policing system. 
• Punishment: Lack of fast track courts. The punishment given to the offenders shall be strict and exemplary so that others think hundred times before committing such an hideous act. 
• Improper planning of the city: Spaces gets created in cities which breed crime and insecurity. Pockets of crime gets created in unmanaged and under – developed areas. 
• To increase reporting of rape and assault cases: To increase the reporting of such cases at first we need to empower the women and children. They must be educate on their rights and encourage them to come forward to register the cases. There are many violent cases but due to stigma in the society very few are reported. 

Having said so, the crux of the matter lies within the mindset and how the person behaves. In case of a rape or molestation, even though people call for zillions of measures that could have been taken but the fact of the matter is that one person forcibly imposed himself on the other, which in the first case is wrong. So instead of asking the women to be careful or upgrading police structure, the main thought must be to NOT RAPE or MOLEST!

The role of the planner in addressing this issue is confined to creating more lively spaces in the city and creating a planned environment with reduction in slums and squatter settlements which do not have proper access to basic infrastructure which breeds a lot of negativity. This in no way shall imply that all the crimes against women are committed by persons living in slums and squatter settlements. These spaces in the city do not have proper lighting or development and creates zones of seclusion which ill – minded people use for their malpractices.

Chandigarh which has been boasted as one of the finest planning examples, if we look at the administrative area of Chandigarh, it becomes absolutely haunted during nights which may become a potential area of crime at night. Similarly, the transit corridors of Greater Noida where there are long stretches of roads with nothing on both sides for a very long time. These become potential sites for crime. Arranging land uses in such a manner that there are people at call and walking around at all times. Going for a compact development model can also be helpful where commercial, residential and work places are integrated in the same area. 

Some design features like adequate street lighting and having kiosks (small shops) near bus stops can be a small initiative towards enhancing safety. Kiosks shall ensure that there are people around the bus stop at all times. Reservation of seats in buses and metros shall be provided and shall be strictly enforced. People occupying those spaces shall be penalized. GPS devices shall be placed within auto – rickshaws and buses for tracing those vehicles in a speedy manner.

Graphic Illustration of empowering women in buses/ metro
Source: Times of India (Dated 4th October, 2010. Accessed on (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-04/people/34239880_1_rajiv-chowk-mein-diya ) 

Finally, a nationwide campaign is needed to reignite India's core values and traditions that respect and nurture women and children. This can only be borne out of consensus in society. Awareness amongst men of the scope of this issue is critical. Men who turn a blind eye to such brutal acts in their own neighborhoods, communities and families are just as culpable as those that perpetrate these acts. Action from courts and police will not suffice if the community remains defiantly opposed to change.