What Does The ODD-EVEN RULE Mean For Women?

In the light of the recent odd-even formula being implemented in New Delhi, questions have been raised regarding the safety of women.

While the blood stains of the heinous Nirbhaya incident haven’t faded, women’s security appears to be in danger again. Although the intention of the AAP government cannot be doubted, yet the solution seems to have been formulated in haste.

The level of pollution in Delhi is alarming. We are constantly breathing massive amount of unpolluted air in the morning, noon or at night. Babies are being born with respiratory diseases. Not to mention its impact on the elderly, drivers of public transports or a person of any age for that matter.

Driving cars is a luxury only for a miniscule. For others it’s a necessity.

According to the Census data, more than 4 million people travel to work daily in Delhi. Among them, female workers account for more than six lakh.

So, we do NEED to think again and again about the efficacy of this ruling. The fact that it is going to affect men and women alike is not denied, but its impact on women is much more problematic.

• One cannot ignore the precarious status of women’s safety in Delhi. Sexual assaults are the order of the day. Rapes are not close to decreasing in number.  At a time when safety for women on the roads should be of prime concern, the government has proposed a solution, that would end up in lesser women using public transport. How then can we afford to label this as a “great move” by the government?
• The government’s recent proposal of exempting single women drivers seems probable but what about those women who are driven, especially the middle-aged and the elderly? We can’t expect older women to learn driving within a fortnight! Should they stop going to work? Or go on alternate days.
• Not everyone is comfortable using public transport. Assaults in buses or the Metro is not unacquainted. If more women are to use public transport, we need measures to curtail all the eve teasing, morbid looks and dirty comments.
• Public transports in Delhi face acute shortage. Almost every day there is a stampede like situation at the major metro stations during the rush hours. Added to this will be more number of people who would have no other option but to use it. For women, it’s a task… To protect the bag or the body?!

The government needs to arrive at solutions that are in everybody’s favour. We cannot remain blind to the issue of women’s safety. The government’s top priority should be to ensure the same. Working wives and mothers especially will bear the major brunt where it will take more time for them to commute via public transport. Whether the ‘Aam Aadmi’ stands to benefit from this seems a dubious possibility.