Editorial
Women on the move
Commuting is another challenge for women
A recent report by this paper reveals that women commuters in Chittagong city are facing all kinds of hurdles when trying to travel on buses. This is hardly news as we know that all over Bangladesh women are finding it increasingly difficult to move from one place to the other.
Women are now required to travel all over the city for many reasons. With the growing number of women commuters come an increasing number of obstacles. Bus services are the most commonly used by women commuters, but getting on a bus seems to be one of the biggest hurdles for them. After waiting for hours when a crowded bus arrives, she must shove her way through to get on the bus, sometimes being pushed away by male commuters or even the rude bus conductors, leaving her stranded on the streets.
Despite the designated number of seats for women this is hardly enough to accommodate the growing number of women who need to take the bus to go to their destination. In previous years governments have tried to solve the problem by providing a few buses exclusively for women so that they could travel with relative ease. We don't know what happened to those special buses.
Given the overwhelming need for public transport in general, as the economy is growing, and with it its female working force, the government is obliged to provide safe, affordable bus services for women.
Reviving the previous endeavour to provide buses exclusively for women could be part of the solution. In addition to that there has to be a widespread awareness campaign to urge citizens to be more courteous to women travellers and allow them to travel without the fear of being groped or physically intimidated to make them step aside. It is unacceptable for a democratic, civilized society to allow such blatant discrimination against women's mobility.
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