When I say my train of thought has left the station, it does not include one of the women’s coach in Delhi Metro Rail. It doesn’t seem to matter if you’re inside or outside the coach, you are never not reflective of the pockets of freedom to wear what you wish, and do what you want. There is something so real and diverse about this compartment that one cannot help but wonder to themselves, “Is this my life now?”
The Delhi Metro Ladies Compartment is a space carved out exclusively for women to occupy unapologetically, away from the male gaze, and let them dare to put their guard down. While you brush away the thought of “general compartment phobia”, you begin to retrospect on how unconsciously, several women like you have made the ‘women-only’ compartment an indispensable part of their daily lives. Plunged into the urban life, living in a city with absolute strangers and navigating public space takes over the safe mobility that women from all social settings long for. Further discussed in this article, freedom of movement is one of the things the ‘pink’ coach advocates for.
Characterizing How Diversity Works in the Ladies’ Coach
The metro speeds ahead on the beaten track, minute after minute, day after day. You look up from your lap to find women sitting across from you, or standing around trying not to get too tired before a full day’s work: some snoozing, some zoning out, some on their screens, or some noses inside their books. One glance at the commuters, and you see the diversities and realities every woman comes from.
From a burqa-clad women to women in short dresses, light-skinned to dark-skinned, long-haired, short-haired or hair secured in a plaid; from thick-rimmed reading glasses to Ray-Ban’s, from shiny Bata sandals/doctor chappal to Vans Sneaker or Fila Sport shoes: the myriad of styles and unsaid background behind them is hard to miss and spiral about. Here, we are surrounded by so many faces and personalities, stories, and histories, lest we forget the color and intrigue our co-passengers add to the mundane electric car.
Sharing the public space comes with acknowledging the presence of others only through the exchange of glances and not saying a word to the other person. The dynamic between 2 quiet strangers or 2 friends sharing a pair of earphones seems to carry more ‘baggage’ and ‘character’ in comparison to 2 friends gossiping about the happenings of their college/ office or what they are going to cook for dinner that night. The ‘baggage’ or ‘character’ referred to here, is interdependent of what your dynamic with co-passengers is, these facets can be gauged through fashion, hidden facial expressions, postures, or how heavy their luggage is, literally. Characterizing the many types of women doesn’t necessarily translate into comparison, it essentially means being accustomed to the life around you.
Your roving eyes can land on say, Shreya Singh, 21 who’s waiting at a station with a bunch of her girlfriends for the metro going towards Khan Market. It is a weekend and these are the only days she gets off from studying for a public examination. From that station, they travel to eat, watch movies, or sometimes go to a pub. What she, along with many other urban women feels is that if it weren’t for the ladies compartment, they wouldn’t have been able to dress in that certain way. The narrative in support of the women’s compartment can be understood by acknowledging this story and how the actualization of a liberating space is conducive to women’s emancipation and liberation through better self-expression.
Civil inattention is the norm. You might notice a book the girl sitting next to you is reading – it is one of your favorite authors and you wish to discuss it with her, or the woman bobbing her head to a beat and you want to know what song she’s listening to, or you spot a sullen-looking girl gazing out of the window trying not to let anyone see her eyes well up. You wish you could give her a hug or do any of the things mentioned above, but you stay put because participating in the public also means respecting everyone’s privacy. And this is what the ‘womens only’ stands for.
Gender Relation, Democratization and the Absence of Male Gaze
Adding to the spacial considerations playing an integral part in addressing the question of women’s respectability where we are less likely to mold our behavior and the way we dress according to the traditional definition of respectable feminine behavior, Delhi Metro is the only public space in the city where men are on the periphery. The authority provided to women inside this enclosed space overturns the power dynamics and gender roles according to the status quo, as for the first time, women have authority and agency in a place where it was typically awarded to men.
Women’s solidarity and democratization of public transport are important progressions this coach has contributed to in society, for example, we can now rightfully claim what’s theirs by politely asking them to leave. Women’s empowerment and equality is not something that comes with physical proximity to men, as opposed to other counter-narratives, but with their climb up the overall gender discourse ladder which will inevitably some through better opportunities and access to public space – freedom only the pink coach provides.
If you would’ve been there in the general coach, would you still be able to see women the way you see them in the absence of men? A negation is spiraled in this aspect because the male gaze colors our perspective in a single direction and the central periphery shifts to men. The women’s coach symbolizes these common struggles and every ride will be a story signifying the ideas of solidarity, strength, respect, compassion, and freedom.
Safe Travels!