A Seat on the Desk Stays Unoccupied And not using a Seat on the Bus

The phrase “a seat on the desk” is a robust metaphor for affect, voice, and decision-making. However earlier than we will take our place in boardrooms, legislative chambers, and workplaces, we have to get there—safely, affordably, and with out obstacles. The journey to empowerment, management, and financial independence begins in public areas, on buses, and in metros—locations that ought to allow freedom, not prohibit it.

International Women’s Day was born out of radical movements for labour rights, suffrage, and systemic change. It was by no means meant to be about pink-washed ads or social media posts. But, that’s what it has grow to be—a day when manufacturers, companies, and even these round us embrace shallow empowerment narratives whereas ignoring the systemic inequalities we’ve all been conditioned to just accept.

This Ladies’s Historical past Month, we’re deconstructing mobility as a feminist proper. Public transportation isn’t nearly getting from level A to level B. It’s about mobility in each sense of the phrase—financial, social, and political. Mobility is a perform of entry, andaccess has by no means been equal.

When our city planning and public transport programs have been historically designed with the commuting patterns of upper-caste, able-bodied males and the wealthy in thoughts, they select to exclude ladies, trans individuals, and marginalised communities. This isn’t nearly consolation or comfort; it’s about rights, entry, and fairness.

From poorly lit bus stops to overcrowded public transport, from insufficient first and last-mile connectivity to the looming risk of harassment, these usually are not simply inconveniences however obstacles. They restrict our participation within the workforce, in training, in public life. They inform us the place we will go, and by extension, the place we can not.

Reclaiming Public Areas—Taking Over the Metropolis

In October 2024, we took to the streets of Mumbai and spoke to the ladies navigating a metropolis that guarantees upward mobility however systematically denies it to those that want it most. Like most cities within the nation, Mumbai’s public areas usually are not impartial—they’re formed by caste, class, and gendered privilege. Ladies in Mumbai spend 21% more on transportation than males simply to really feel protected, exposing the stark gendered financial burden of mobility. But, even after paying this ‘pink tax,’ only 35% of girls really feel protected accessing metro stations. This isn’t only a failure of infrastructure—it’s a deliberate exclusion from town itself.

However ladies are reclaiming area. In Delhi, the Pink Ticket scheme, and in Karnataka, the Shakti Scheme, have confirmed that equitable policies can challenge the status quo. When ladies occupy buses, trains, and stations in larger numbers, they don’t simply attain their locations—they shift the dynamics of public area itself. Extra ladies in public means safer streets, stronger communities, and a problem to the deeply entrenched norms that dictate who will get to maneuver freely.

But, fare-free transport insurance policies for ladies have typically been framed as an unfair benefit regardless of research constantly displaying that households in India spend much less on women than on boys, not simply in education, healthcare and nutrition but in addition on transport. For a lot of, journey is an financial hurdle.

Ladies’s mobility patterns are more intricate—they typically journey shorter distances however make a number of stops for (unpaid) caregiving, family errands, and work. But, public transportation just isn’t designed for these realities. When ladies cease utilizing public transport due to excessive prices, it’s not simply their independence that suffers—it’s the financial system. Ladies who can not afford to commute don’t work. They don’t research. They don’t take part in public life. And that misplaced participation interprets to misplaced wages, misplaced productiveness, and misplaced financial development. However entry to mobility alone just isn’t sufficient. Elevated ridership have to be met with political dedication—higher infrastructure, frequent buses, and actual security measures that transcend tokenism. Gender sensitisation is the naked minimal. It’s not nearly mobility—it’s about energy, autonomy, and the fitting to exist freely within the cities we helped construct.

Mobility for Individuals, Sustainability for the Planet: I ❤️ Local weather Tickets

We’d like cities that transfer with ladies, not towards them. Once we design public transportation with everybody in thoughts, we incentivise its utilisation by all.

Shifting extra individuals from personal autos to public transportation reduces carbon emissions, decongests roads, and improves air high quality. And when public transportation is accessible and inclusive, it turns into a robust device for local weather justice.

Our imaginative and prescient isn’t nearly making public transport accessible and inexpensive—it’s about reimagining our cities. It’s about feminist city planning that caters to the wants of all: ladies, trans individuals, the working class, individuals with disabilities, the aged, college students, and the planet.

Let’s query why entry to protected and inexpensive public transport is normalised as a luxurious quite than a proper and a primary service for the individuals. Why aren’t there sufficient buses? Why are streets unsafe? Why are cities designed for automotive house owners as an alternative of public transport customers? Allow us to recognise {that a} actually inclusive society isn’t one the place ladies and different minorities are merely current—it’s one the place they will take part, contribute, and lead.

A feminist actuality isn’t nearly who will get a seat on the desk. It asks who will get to achieve there—who will get to maneuver freely, with out worry, with out limits, and with company. And it fights for those who can’t.

Wish to reimagine the way in which we transfer?

Proper now, now we have the prospect to demand protected, accessible, and fare-free public transport for all. Name in your elected officers to put money into public transportation with a devoted finances that prioritizes fairness, sustainability, and mobility for many who want it most.

In regards to the creator

Empty (they/them) is a Communications Advisor with Greenpeace India. They’re a author and researcher specializing in the intersections of local weather and social justice. They write on queer and gender politics as nicely.

References:

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