Women have Shakti, ensure their safety now

While free bus travel empowers women, a gender-sensitive city planning is vital for inclusion and safety.

The Government of Karnataka launched the Shakti Scheme on June 11, 2023. One month into the scheme, the data reflects how important mobility is for women in the state. Since the scheme’s inception, 16 crore free tickets have been issued to women passengers travelling on buses across the state. The daily count has increased from 5.7 lakh tickets on June 11 to 66 lakh tickets on July 10, 2023.

On average, more than 50 lakh women use buses every day, indicating heavy reliance on public transport. The cost incurred by the scheme is easily offset by the public good it aims to achieve: the social and economic upliftment of women. While the scheme has faced implementation challenges, one should not overlook the fact that this socio-inclusive initiative is much more than just a freebie.

In a society where attaining financial independence has remained a challenge for women due to a lack of opportunities and the need to explore and step out, their mobility depends on their respective spouses and children. In fact, data reflects that in most Indian families, only men have access to vehicles, while women rely on public transport or the men for their travel. In such cases, mobility is crucial for women to access work opportunities. Even for those who stay at home, mobility is essential for running the household. The scheme challenges entrenched social norms about women and their roles in the house and in society.

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Data suggests that the female worker population ratio is only 31.7 per cent in Karnataka, with women having to spend exorbitant amounts on bus passes. This is worse for women working in the informal sector, where wages are meagre. Now, women, especially those working in the unorganised sector, can return home with full wages, explore newer economic opportunities without worrying about travel expenses, and save up.

While a free bus ride allows women to participate in cities on an equal footing, there is still a long way to go in terms of reinforcing safety measures. Current conditions indicate that women face everyday violence in public spaces such as streets, markets, parks, and public transport, among others. This directly affects women’s access to cities, inhibiting their ability to utilise opportunities and benefit from them. While free bus travel allows women to access buses, this access is still contingent on whether women can safely access urban spaces. For instance, a woman can travel by bus for free at 10 pm, but are the prevailing safety measures adequate to ensure that she can reach home safely? This indicates that not only buses but also bus stops act as key transit spaces. Moreover, the lack of safety on public transport like buses can hinder women’s ability to access the city.

Gender-sensitive infra

Accessibility planning is often an afterthought in cities, as it is not a priority. In this context, it is important to understand that existing laws that safeguard and foster women’s safety only address instances of post-violence and the commission of crimes. Gender-sensitive public infrastructure and services are crucial for the safety and autonomy of women in urban spaces. There is a need to adopt a feminist urban planning approach that acknowledges the differences that exist and is sensitive to how public spaces affect certain groups of people differently in terms of access, safety, and autonomy. A starting point for this would be to examine the existing legal framework of urban governance in Karnataka from a feminist perspective and re-envision a city that adheres to principles of inclusion and equality.

The most important part of the solution is the need for a change in mindset. There is often disdain among bus drivers, conductors, and other passengers towards women riding for free. So much so that many times women are not given the allotted seats and are looked at disrespectfully. A paradigm shift in the mindset of the populace will only occur when we realise that city planning is not merely a technical exercise dictated by elites and those in positions of power, both politically and in society, but is actually intertwined with the harsh realities of society. This is a crucial step in understanding why women are at risk in the city and how free bus travel is only a small step towards ensuring that cities belong to all, not just a few.

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