Jawaharlal Nehru once reportedly said, “You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women.” I got thinking about this on International Women’s Day earlier this week when a student from the South Campus of the Delhi University was allegedly murdered outside her college. A chance conversation about the gruesome murder with a passing neighbour got me thinking a little more. She expressed her anger over the senseless incident, and then said, “These days, it’s impossible to control young girls!” I thought I’d heard wrong, till she added, “if she’d told her parents she was being troubled by a boy, they’d have kept her out of college and under their watchful eyes — she may have been alive today!” I could only gape at the lady who, in spite of being educated, believed that the only way women could be safe was to stay home.
Just then, a couple of well-dressed girls from the North East (a lot of youngsters have taken up paying guest accommodation in the village behind our colony) walked past, chattering gaily. “Now look at them,” the neighbour sniffed, “if they step out wearing such short skirts and so much make-up, boys are obviously going to give them a hard time! They’re just asking for trouble…” Obviously, this started an endless, inconclusive argument. The neighbour ended by saying, “Girls need to always remember the mantra: Stay Home, Stay Safe. That’s the best way they can protect themselves!” I remained in my balcony long after she’d departed, thinking of the sheer futility of celebrating Women’s Day even as women like her continued to think as they did.
Then, the fresh faces of the young lady drivers trained by a Delhi NGO, Azad Foundation, and its consulting arm, Sakha, came to mind. Azad Foundation trains women from underprivileged backgrounds to drive, while Sakha Consulting Wings helps place these drivers in suitable jobs. Although chauffeuring is traditionally seen as a male bastion, the organisation has done a sterling job of helping change opinions about employing women drivers. They also operate the Capital’s first women-only taxi service. Not only do they encourage girls to step out of their homes, they also train them to take on the world — and the stalkers, eve-teasers and prejudiced people who live in it. Talking with the girls was quite illuminating.
They were polite, well-turned-out and quite unwilling to accept any allowances for the fact that they were women. “I’m happy to work late,” said one, “I can take the metro back to my house quite easily.” Maybe I looked slightly doubtful when she said that. So she smiled and said, “We’ve all received training in martial arts from the Delhi Police. I’d like to see the shock on a guy’s face when he gets what he deserves after trying anything funny with me!” The girls were also well-versed in performing basic car repairs, changing punctured tyres and so on. “We’ve learnt driving at the Maruti Institute of Driving and Technology Research,” said another, “and our in-house trainers have also taught us what is to be done if the car we’re driving breaks down.” They’d also attended workshops on gender rights, and were extremely aware of what to do if they were harassed.
The memory of the intrepid women of Azad Foundation suddenly made the world look brighter from my balcony that day. Not only did they demonstrate a better alternative to what my neighbour had suggested, they were actually doing their bit to offer safer commuting options to Delhi’s women. Much better than the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” mantra, don’t you think?