How do you tell how many men and how many perverts travel in our so called ‘world class’ Delhi metro?
Delhi metro is one of the busiest public transports in India at the moment and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has been handling the pressure of daily commuters with a great sense of professionalism and responsibility. Sadly, commuters have not been showing the similar sense of responsibility. It is a common scene to see men sitting in the seats reserved for women commuters.
If wrong doers are confronted, they blame the women commuters for not going to the coach/compartment reserved for the ladies. Men usually circle around the women commuters and lave no chance to get close or even grope the ladies in Delhi metro. There are various cases which get reported on daily basis but there is hardly anything which is done by the authorities to put a permanent full stop to the sexual harassment faced by ladies in Delhi metro.
According to Neeta (name changed), she takes metro from Sarita Vihar to reach her office at ITO metro. She reveals in a frustrated voice that no day goes by without men touching different parts of her body. It’s always very crowded during peak/office hours and hence everybody struggles to find enough space to even stand properly. Taking advantage of this situation, men rub thighs against her butt, try to press crotch against her, and try to even grope her breasts by placing their arms or hands quite intentionally around that area. But she has got no other option of travelling to her office as it’s similar even in public buses.
There are thousands of females like Neeta who face the sick and disgusting touch of hundreds of perverts in Delhi Metro but there is very little what they could do to avoid it.
Feminists blame DMRC for not providing enough no. of ladies coaches in Delhi Metro as just one coach is just not enough considering the number of female commuters of Delhi Metro. While there are other females who argue whether there is even need of female coaches in metro at all. A part of female group does not even want one ladies coach in Metro; they want to keep the female freedom alive by allowing them to travel in any coach they want to and that too with great sense of freedom and safety. They argue that if women are independent and are equal to men then why create a distinction which makes females look inferior. Well there’s point in their argument but all iChhori has to say is that female should be provided with an environment where there are no perverts, no rubbing or groping in metro. She should be able to roam around anywhere she wishes to. After all angles are not be caged, are they?