India Matters: Call When You Reach Home

It's no city for women, scream the headlines. So what are young women to do? Strong, independent and individualistic women, on the cusp of what promises to be a brilliant career. Should they circumscribe their lives and give in? Or fight the odds, possibly by choosing their battles and adopting survival strategies?

Six single working women share glimpses of what it means to be out after dark.

"The case of the Uber rape is terrifying for all girls and women in Delhi," said Shreya Mukherjee, a development professional. "We do everything we can to make sure we are not vulnerable, but when we hear stuff it just cuts at that. What angered most of us was the fact that if you compare autos and cabs, cabs are considered the safer alternative."

Neha Sabharwal, who is also a development professional, says,"Every time we hear about a rape case in the news, it sort of instils a fear in you. So after the Nirbhaya case two years ago, I decided not to take a bus. And after the Uber rape case, every time I sit in a cab, I am scared.  I was taking a cab today and I wanted to doze off but suddenly the whole news flashed in my head and no, I couldn't sleep off."

According to Aditi Bhalotra, a digital media professional, "I am a lot more cautious. I do take cabs at night, like reasonably late as well, and I am not going to stop because I don't feel the need to be restricted by something like this. I mean I am careful, as careful I can be. I don't want to change my lifestyle too much after this incident. It's not the first and it's not going to be the last."

Bhalotra also says her parents' concerns over her choice of taking cabs, even after the Uber rape incident, are natural. "They are definitely not okay with this. I think just two days after the Uber case happened, I was coming back from the airport and my mom was like, 'you can't come back in a cab'. I mean, you can't expect them to be any other way. I would be concerned if I was a parent, and I dont blame them for their concerns. But I still can't change my habits that much," she says.

For Grace Rongmei, a public relations professional, the aggression in Delhi is difficult to deal with. "To be quite honest, the things that I have faced in Delhi, may seem insignificant compared to what people coming from North East face. Apart from people shouting on the roads while I am going somewhere, or calling me 'Chinki' or calling me 'Momo', thank God, I have not faced anything bigger than that. But yes, it really bothers me. I think I am still getting used to it till now, even after 10 years," she says.

Grace lives with her younger sister and brother in a rented flat in Delhi. She says it makes her feel more vulnerable. "While going back from work, sometimes it is 7:30, sometimes it is 8 and during events, since I am in PR, there are events that end around 10.30 or 11. Those times, you have to take a cab alone. It's really my parents who are really worried for me, because sometimes the phone gets switched off, and they keep on thinking, 'where is my daughter? What's happening to her?  Has she reached home safe?"

20-year-old Pallavi Maini is working her first job in Delhi, in a communications company. Her parents live in Muscat, and she lives with her grandparents in Gurgaon. Her parents are worried when she is out late at night. Pallavi said, "They are scared, of course. But they know I am taking my precautions. And I would be safer if I am staying with my grandparents and not by my self. So they are little relaxed about it,  but not really. They keep calling me as well all the time, when I am out late, checking if I am home or not."

Her colleague, Deepika Singh, who lives with her family, says it is her responsibility to keep informing them where she is. She said, "I cannot complain about them being worried. And it is not just about when I am at work. There are a lot of times where I just want to generally go out. And even that becomes a cause of worry. How many friends am I with? There's lots of things."

Shreya recalls feeling vulnerable in a cab once. "It was not too late at night and he was staring at me in the rear view mirror. Immediately, what I did, what most of us do, is get on the phone with imaginary or real friend and just sort of to not engage with him and stay alert," she says.

The irony, says Shreya, is that she escaped the most vulnerable situation she has ever faced because of an auto driver in Bangalore.

"At 10 pm, on Brigade Road, I was with this friend and we saw this man coming towards us definitely with the intention of either to attack us or something.  An auto driver just happened to pass by. We stopped him and without us saying anything, he sensed what was going on. We literally jumped into the auto as it was still moving. He said get in quickly and move. And that's how we got away from it."

We asked them if they thought they needed a strong self preservation instinct, a survival strategy?

Says Aditi, "After this incident, I would considering carrying a pepper spray or some sort of a blade to protect oneself, specially if you are travelling at night. I feel burdened by the fact that I have to think about any of this, that I have to think twice before I go out at night, where I'm going, what time I have to be home, and whether or not it is a good idea. It's been a burden, I think, we are born with. So maybe will get a little used to it, but that doesn't mean it is okay."

Says Deepika, "Sometimes I have landed myself in conversation with auto or the cab drivers. At the same time, I am cautious of not revealing information about where I stay, who do I stay with or where do I work."

Says Pallavi, "If I am out late in the night, I would not travel alone back home. I would have someone, a friend at least, to go back home with and also, pepper spray has to be there with me at all time. Because you don't know what goes wrong when. It can also happen in broad daylight. You need to take your precautions."

Says Neha, "If it's an official meeting, I try and schedule it for the afternoon. If it can't be changed, I make sure the office arranges for a cab.  When I  am going out with friends, I always arrange a stayover or ensure somebody is dropping me back. If neither one can be ensured, I don't go out."

Adds Shreya, "Like I say, even if you don't have a survival strategy, invent it. At least look like it. It's a little social experiment that I have tried doing when I am walking alone. Just walk with purpose. Even if you are walking somewhere take your pet. That helps. I often take my dog to the market, even if it's a seven min walk. Even if it's in my own neighborhood. Often my dad's advice would be exactly what I would do. Even though it is upon the state to do whatever to make Delhi a safe place for women, but while they do that, we will continue to do what we have been doing for a very long time to ensure we can at least safeguard ourselves."

According to Grace, "You have to continue living your life. But I think, living in Delhi, a place where you know things happen, when things happen without any control, you can be cautious to a certain extent. You can very well carry a gun, but if things have to happen, it happens. When you know for a fact that the place is not safe at all, then you very well be responsible to a certain extent, do whatever you can do to keep yourself safe. If I had the courage, to be quite honest, I would stay out late. I would party with friends, I would enjoy with them, but I also know that I would not be safe. I will be very vulnerable if I am in that state and I won't put myself in that situtation. But in Delhi, even guys are not safe. Even kids, be it boys or girls, I mean they get raped every now and then."

Neha  believes that rapes have nothing to do with the clothes women wear. "Clothes have no role when a three-year-old or a five-year-old gets raped. They are not being provocative in any sense. I personally feel more freedom is taken from you every time an incident takes place. For example, even if a colleague shows concern and says you should leave early, which for me, it is taking away my freedom. So things do change, but unfortunately not for the better of women. And rape still continues to happen."

New Initiative to Address the Issue

Meanwhile, a new initiative is taking place to make the urban transport system safe for women through the night and day. It has reached out to nearly 60,000 drivers of public transport, in an attempt to make them the eyes and ears of the public. What is interesting is that instead of seeing drivers as part of the problem, they are now seen as part of the solution.

We are sitting in on a gender sensitisation class for autorickshaw drivers that takes place every weekday in the city at two locations.

It's mandatory for drivers to undergo the hour long training which is conducted by an NGO, Manas Foundation, and supported by Ford Foundation. There are nearly a lakh autorickshaws and gramin sewa vehicles. Each year, they have to undergo a fitness test and acquire a fitness certificate. But before they can do so they have to undergo the training.

Autorickshaws provide the last mile connectivity and nearly 80 per cent of the passengers are women. Yet no effort has been made to engage with autorickshaw drivers, who were viewed as a stand-alone community.

Since the programme began 10 months ago, over 40,000 drivers have undergone training.

Autorickshaw driver Anil, who attended the training session today, is happy with the session. "Women's safety is an important issue," he says. "We drivers should just focus on our job. We should explain the importance of women safety to other drivers as well."

According to Monica Kumar, Managing Trustee, Manas Foundation, "Nobody has spoken to them about violence. Their perception about violence may be very different.  Why women are working? Why women are outside till late? And we give them two or three key messages. How your behavior is instrumental in your earnings. How your behavior of respect and security of women makes her feel a part of this whole process. And about sexual harassment laws because many of them are not aware of the new Act that has come."

Delhi's reputation as an unsafe city for women has impacted them. There's a perceptible decline in the number of foreign tourists and women passengers using autorickshaws.

The training also leads to branding of autorickshaws as safe spaces, a source of pride for the driver and comfort to the passenger. There's also a helpline called Auto Sahara run by Manas for any follow up issues.

"We learnt how to behave with women. It is our duty to drop women off safely to their homes," says autorickshaw driver Deepak Kumar. His views are echoed by Gagan Thakur, another autorickshaw driver, who says, "My autorickshaw and my passenger are the source of my daily bread."

The challenge is to ensure the accountability of each driver, given the fact that multiple drivers often operate a single autorickshaw on the road and do not go through the system. There is also a need to create a bridge between drivers and the police, a need for a collaborative inter-sectoral approach.

In another part of the city, a gender sensitisation programme for bus drivers and conductors belonging to Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) is in progress.

DTC has around 12,000 drivers and an equal number of conductors. Over 30 per cent of the drivers and 50 per cent of conductors are contractual staff. With nearly 40 lakh passengers travelling on DTC buses everyday, the safety of women commuters is an important issue. The gender sensitisation classes started in November last year and focus on how the driver and conductor should behave in case of harassment of women on buses.

AK Goyal, CGM of DTC's Training Department, said, "The driver should ensure proper stopping of the bus, boarding and de-boarding. As far as the conductor is concerned, the conductor is supposed to take care of everything. If a woman passenger boards the bus, it is the duty of the conductor to ask the male passenger to vacate the seat for her. In case anything happens in the bus, he is supposed to take care of that. He should try to settle those things, in case."

Every driver and conductor is expected to attend the training once a year. The programme, conducted and supported by an NGO, Modicare Foundation,  also covers stress management for the staff since they deal with a large number of people. Over 1000 passengers travel in a bus on any given day.

Om Prakash, a DTC driver, said, "The biggest problem is that since the buses are crowded, a lot of pickpockets get on to the bus. We know they are pickpockets and we stop the bus. They claim to be members of the staff. Since we can't tell them not to board the bus, we tell them to either get off or to go to the back of the bus and buy a ticket. If any incident occurs at the back of the bus, the conductor has been told to blow the whistle. We stop the bus immediately. If we are unable to resolve it, we ring up the nearby police station or call up the Police Control Room (PCR) at 1091."

A conductor pointed out that though a DTC bus allows for only 49 passengers, including the driver and the conductor, there is usually overcrowding. "So we sometimes we don't get to know what's happening inside the bus," he says.

Clearly, at the heart of the problem is the unmanageable crowd inside DTC buses and sex offenders who take advantage of the situation. According to a Delhi High Court assessment, Delhi needs 11,000 public buses, but there are only 6,000 on the roads.

The good news is, there's a new partnership with drivers which will lead to a definite change in perception, or at the least, raise awareness of the need for women's safety in public transport. And how they can help by being the primary agents of change.

The training is soon going to be expanded to all taxi drivers in the city.