Hyderabad got it’s very own metro in December last year. The already popular mode of transport just upped its customer friendly image with its recent move to set aside a compartment exclusively for women.
At the metro station, three women are seated in a row, reading the newspapers, listening to music and catching up on gossip. The two metro lines are only starting to attract passengers and the typical crowded metro scene is yet to arrive in Hyderabad.
After buying tickets and passing through the security check, one finds that the next train to Miyapur is only six minutes away. Along with her 11-year-old sister, Varshitha, 19, a CA student heads to the ‘Ladies only’ section at the waiting corridor. “I usually travel to college by bus; this is my first time in the metro”, says Varshita. When asked if she would use the metro again, she smiles and says it’s expensive.
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In the first compartment of the train, marked with bright pink tape that reads ‘Ladies only’, are two men standing and staring at their phones. Sudha, 23, who works for an MNC in Somajiguda, has to get down at the last stop and is waiting for a seat. Dressed in a batik sari and with earphones plugged in, she stays silent in the metro, until her eyes reach a vacant seat that has been taken by a man. She wonders why a seat reserved for women is occupied by a man. “Men who accompany women use that as an excuse to enter the ladies compartment. If you have your brother, boyfriend, father or family travelling with you, make use of the general compartment,” is her advise to ladies.
A chirpy young girl gets down at Begumpet station. Checking her phone and waiting for her cab to arrive is Sheetal Jain, a B.Com student who has been travelling by the metro for the past 10 days. “I see middle-aged ‘uncles’ getting inside the female compartment,” she says adding that as much as she wants to ask them to move, “The men are of my father’s age, and I don’t ask them to shift, simply out of respect.”
Sheetal travels from the Miyapur station and has noticed security guards restricting men from entering the ladies compartment. But unfortunately, this doesn’t follow through the remaining stops. On receiving complaints, the security guard at Begumpet metro station says, “The ladies compartment is newly opened and is closest to the escalators. During rush hours, men who’ve just arrived rush into the closest compartments.”
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Rinita Disilva, 24, working at a fashion institute in Panjagutta says that the metro has helped her escape traffic, pollution, and also is faster compared to RTC buses. She has had a comfortable metro experience and even seen security guards guiding men in the female compartment to the general compartment. Her friend Namrata Sajjan, who travels from Nagole station says, “I’ve seen a number of men in the compartment who would just sit there; it is only now that a few guards have been restricting male entry.
Divyanjani Ganesh, on the other hand, has a varying opinion. Travelling to the JNTU station with a backpack on, holding on to the sidebar, in conversation with a co-worker Shuba, she is more casual. “It’s okay if men want to travel in this compartment as long as they are not bothering us and as long as the train is not crowded. If the seats are vacant and there is no woman waiting, sure, go ahead and take them,” she says.
Compartments that aim at creating an exclusive and safe place for women are easily established need proper regulation. While some women remain silent, some other chafe and complain. To a few others , it doesn’t really matter. The metro moves on to the sound of flipping newspapers and announcements.