[Reader-list] Delhi metro and Reservations for women

[anupam chakravartty]

*Surviving Men<http://www.facebook.com/notes/rosalyn-dmello/surviving-men/204799216204735>
*
There's a fifteen minute delay on the yellow line of the Delhi metro. I'm
proud of Dharini Bhaskar, who is responsible for the delay. For months now,
she's been taking the metro from Malviya Nagar to Green Park, bravely
entering the general compartment be...cause she's one of the few who
believes that men and women must learn to share their space with each other.
Today, as she stood near the door, ready to get off when the metro inched
into the station, a wobbly man got in who could hardly walk straight. Her
impulses kicked in, she wrapped her arms across her torso, like most of us
are fated to do for the rest of our lives in public spaces. Long story
short, the man tried to slap her face, she ducked, but his hand slapped
across her chest. What's worse is that not a single person stood up for her.
Nobody said a word. She yelled. She stopped the train, she called for help.
Nobody came. She called 100, they were dyslexic and began to ask for
directions to the Hauz Khas metro which is ironic since the police station
is right there, a couple of metres away. The men in the compartment began to
yell at Dharini for having delayed the train, they "had to get to work". The
police came, and when she told them to take the man out, the other men,
realising it would cause a further delay, told the men in khaki that Dharini
was "crazy".    If you too are disgusted by this, I'd like you to show some
support. What happened to Dharini must never, ever, happen again, to any
other woman. We must not let it.   I've decided to compile, over facebook, a
little survival kit. Things to do in these situations. I'd love to have your
contributions to this list.   For instance. If I were in Dharini's place, I
would have got my phone out, switched on the camera and would have
immediately taken a photograph of the man in question. I would then have
taken a photograph of all the men around who did nothing. I would have taken
down the names of the two policemen who finally did show up and who, like
the men in the compartment, did nothing. I would have tried to file a police
case against the man for having sexually harrassed me and for having
assaulted me.   If anything of this nature happens to you, call 1091. I
cannot vouch for them, cannot promise that they will be efficient, but it is
a helpline designed for women's protection.    In the next few days, I'm
going to try and speak to the women's protection cell and try and get them
to be more proactive.   Lastly, we need to protest against what happened to
Dharini. I suggest we have a flash mob. I'll discuss the details with
Malini, my flatmate, who has much experience in this arena.    I would,
however, like a show of hands. The flash mob will mostly involve getting a
batallion of women to get to the Hauz Khas Metro platform to register our
protest in a creative, imaginative way. It will have to involve the press.
There are many ways in which you can help us make this happen, please feel
free to make any suggestions.   I urge you not to let this go. Let's make a
fucking mountain out of a "molehill" (this is what the men in the metro
accused Dharini of doing).   Let's start a serious debate about the
reservation for women in the Delhi metro. There are many among us who
believe we need to share our spaces. Still, there is a compartment reserved
for women and increasingly, on a daily basis, women have to fight just to
get a seat or standing space in a boogie that is "RESERVED" for them.    We
also need to get the women's protection cell and the police to get more
proactive. We need to put pressure on them to be able to act immediately,
decisively and fairly in the event of any kind of emergency.   Don't stay
silent about this. We need to protest! We need to have our voices heard.
It's our city too, we pay our rent, we pay our taxes, we contribute to the
economy as much as men. Why should we be treated like second class citizens?
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by: Rosalyn D'mello <http://www.facebook.com/rosalyn.dmello>