Chowrangi

Due to the social pre-requisite of “Rishta” and due to the rising poverty and severe economic pressures, the number of working women in Pakistan is increasing. Most of these women go to their schools, colleges, universities, offices and workplaces through the public transport.

A woman suffers a lot during the officer hours and most of them suffer at home too. Commuting in a public transport adds one more disgusting ordeal to their already mounting problems. They are treated differently by the conductors, drivers and the fellow male passengers. If a female is young and attractive, driver would make sure that he sits her on the front seat. Conductor would try to seat her just behind the driver seat. If she is older and not-so-attractive than they don’t care about her at all, and would prefer to either keep the seat vacant for some bright prospect or sit some male passengers.

Problems for ladies don’t end at that. After getting a seat in the vehicle, they have to suffer through the poking, abusive language, obnoxious songs, and filthy remarks by driver, conductor and the fellow passengers. If ladies object they get the label of “Do Number” (a slang for a woman of questionable behavior), and then people even follow her to the end.

Another problem faced by the women commuters in the public transport is that the seats allocated officially to them are very limited and they are often occupied by the males, who don’t vacate them even upon request by the females. Men stand in female compartment, and even women have to stand in the places where the luggage and other things are placed. Conductors also enjoy to collect the fare in the congested ladies compartment and they just don’t move from there.

It’s high time that concerned authorities should look into this matter and provide relief to the sisters and mothers of this hapless country.

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