Mumbai: The next time you find railway staff enquiring after your comfort with a smile, don’t hesitate to tell them what ails you, as this would be part of the Western Railway’s bid to sensitise their frontline staff in behaving with female passengers. The WR has tied up with Amnesty International India and will be conducting 25 workshops, the first of which was held last week and attended by 55 railway employees.
WR officials said many complaints go unreported as female passengers don’t come forward despite being harassed at stations and on locals. Mukul Jain, Divisional Railway Manager, WR, said, “This is a very important awareness programme we are doing with Amnesty International. The railway frontline staff will be trained in their responsibilities towards female passengers. This awareness campaign is about gender sensitisation and women safety.”
Local trains in Mumbai carry 75 lakh passengers every day, of which the WR accounts for nearly 35 lakh. Of this, 7.5 lakh are women. According to a survey conducted by Amnesty India, only 1% of female passengers travelling by WR register a complaint. This, it found, was due to several reasons including a lengthy procedure, lack of information, and uncooperative staff. “We are trying to make travel safe for women and confident of registering complaints with our staff. The agency will be meeting thousands of passengers to make them aware of the steps to be followed,” Mr. Jain added.
A memorandum of association has been signed WR and Amnesty International for five years from May 2017 to May 2022. Women travellers will be provided with numbers of helplines, police stations and complaint points through personal interaction and posters at stations.
This is being implemented at stations by ticket checking staff, the station master and Railway Protection Force personnel who attended the workshop. “We made them understand how our social norms tell us to discriminate between men and women, and why need to be compassionate towards women’s issues. We are working on making women report all cases,” a senior WR official said.
On Saturday, an Amnesty International India team also visited the railway school in Valsad and conducted a workshop with students and teachers on bullying and teasing, and how to report such cases. “It’s not about implementation; we are seeking attitudinal change,” the official added.
Ratna Yashwante, Senior Campaigner (Women's Rights), Amnesty International India, said, "Lakhs of women travel on Mumbai's trains every day, and often don't report incidents of harassment and violence to authorities because they fear stigma and discrimination. The WR’s Mumbai Division and Amnesty India are committed to ensure that women can approach railway officials freely with their concerns, and that they are helped promptly. The gender sensitisation workshops for railway staff are a key part of acknowledging and ensuring women’s right to safety, and strengthening responses to complaints received.”
