Why the BBMP needs a gender cell

In Indian cities, urban planning and infrastructure design have largely been gender blind, with a limited understanding of the interrelationships between gender, socio-economic inequities, and violence. The lack of well-maintained urban spaces and public transport owing to a male-centric approach to planning, design, and decision-making has led to the creation of spaces that are exclusionary for women and sexual and gender minorities. The existing top-down approach to planning is out of touch with the on-ground realities that affect the development of cities. A solution to effectively make cities liveable is to adopt a decentralised feminist urban planning approach that is environmentally conscious, fosters community participation, is gender-inclusive, and acknowledges that different groups of people are affected differently in terms of access, safety, and autonomy.

A Gender Cell can be created at the level of the BBMP in Bengaluru to pay requisite attention to women and sexual and gender minorities, ensuring efficient service delivery, capacity building, and expertise on related subjects. The cell can establish three wings. First, a research and analysis wing that will examine existing laws and policies and develop new policies that govern urban planning from a feminist perspective, while also providing capacity-building training to officers of the corporation. In this regard, the cell can conduct campaigns and workshops for relevant stakeholders to promote greater access in the city. Second, an audit wing that conducts surveys and audits targeting the needs of women and sexual and gender minorities to identify gaps in terms of gender inclusivity and safety. Such audits can collect and assess information to identify gaps in public spaces, including aspects such as street lighting, footpaths, parks, bus stations, public toilets, and public transport, among others. Third, an implementation wing that will guide and work alongside agencies to implement infrastructure and development projects from a gender-sensitive perspective. In this regard, the cell can provide expertise and help generate awareness to scale up the effective implementation of these projects.

A feminist approach to city planning to secure the “right to the city” for women is not new. For instance, Vienna has a municipal department of women’s affairs that assists institutions and departments at the city level in the planning and implementation of projects, along with providing input on policy-making decisions. In India, the Chennai Greater Municipal Corporation operationalised a Gender and Policy Lab in 2022. The initiative aims to promote gender mainstreaming and make cities safer for women.

The objective of the cell should be to enhance access to opportunities by improving safety and gender responsiveness in public spaces and transport for women, sexual, and gender minorities through a collaborative approach involving the BBMP, multiple parastatal agencies such as BMTC, BDA, and BMRCL, and government departments like the police and women and child welfare, civil society organisations having expertise in gender studies, elected representatives, academic and research institutions, and citizens, most importantly.

For instance, the cell can tie up with the transport department of Karnataka to assess the impact of the Shakti Scheme on women, sexual and gender minorities, not only to record data but also to understand the short-term and long-term benefits of such a scheme through a detailed study that includes interviews with relevant stakeholders. This will envision an improvement in public transport after an evidence-based study that looks at ground realities, creates awareness, and sensitises the public. BBMP can also introduce a course on gender equality and awareness in all corporation schools to ensure that students also regularly discuss concepts of gender stereotypes, gender-based violence, and discrimination. The cell can also view the BBMP budget from a gender perspective to assess how it will address the different needs of women, sexual and gender minorities.

The idea behind the creation of a gender cell is to foster an inclusive city where every citizen can access public spaces without fear of harassment, experience the opportunities that the city provides for them, and contribute towards a gender-informed policy. If Brand Bengaluru is committed to creating a city that is designed to be accessible and inclusive, a permanent solution is to create a gender cell that can realise its aims, as opposed to a one-off change. While the existing urban infrastructure has failed women, sexual and gender minorities, it is a critical juncture to instrument change to envision a city that is open in its thinking and inclusive and progressive in its approach.

(The writer is a senior resident fellow at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy)