Across pink line, red zone for men

NEW DELHI: As you jump into the first coach on a Metro train — also called the "ladies" compartment — it's like entering a whole new world. Even as men sit silent in the adjoining coach, here, in the ladies' coach, it's a world of boyfriends, fashion, the latest Bollywood release and a space free of any sexual overtones. For most women travelling in Delhi, the pink-marked ladies' coach may well be the only public space in the city where being a woman is not a cause for comment.

Started in 2010, the women-only coach took some getting used to: for the men. It's still an uphill task for many to comprehend that an entire coach is reserved for women (witness the increasing number of fines against men found trying to travel in the coach). But a system has been created amongst the regulars in the women's coach — any man found trying to get inside is warned or shamed into getting off. If they argue, the "aunties" in the compartment physically throw them out. Some, of course, persist, leering and passing comments across the next coach. That's when the enterprising women in the coach get off at the next station to complain or press the emergency button to speak to the driver and ensure the men are stopped from disembarking at the next station.

Like the rest of the city, though, it's not always easy to get rid of the unwanted attention or harassment. Most men deeply resent the reservation of an entire coach and have no qualms about refusing to vacate a reserved seat in other compartments to a woman. For those demanding gender equality, the ladies' coach is also a thorn — it reinforces the gender stereotype and underlines the dismally low participation of women in the workforce. At any station, the line for frisking is always much longer for men than for women.

But with almost 2.3 million travelling on the Delhi Metro network, the ladies' coach is considered a safe haven by many. It's the only space where sexual harassment, rampant in a bus ride or even on a walk down the road, is thwarted. Intellectually, it may be a retrograde step; while travelling in Delhi, it's a practice that most of us welcome.

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