The Sindh government has launched a state-of-the-art Pink People’s Bus Service in the province’s second-largest city Hyderabad. The dedicated service has been launched to particularly accommodate the long-standing travel needs of women in mega industrial hubs in the province. This was the third initiative of its kind as Pink People’s Bus Service was already operating in Karachi and Sukkar over the past few months.
Women are an important segment of modern society and play a highly crucial role in the domestic, social, political, and national life of nations around the globe. As mothers, teachers, politicians, business leaders as well as entrepreneurs, women have a pivotal role in nation building from raising children to positively contributing to the growth of their homes, and social uplift through daycare and schooling of kids along with participation in other leadership activities. At the same time, women have an overwhelming contribution to industries, businesses as well as modern research in Science and Technology.
Women in Pakistan had always played a vital role in all domains of public life including homemaking, social work, Academics, politics, and sports, as well as military and service. However, working women and girls students had always faced multiple problems relating to their work, and travel through public transport in a male dominant society in the country. Usually, there is no separate compartment or a little space for women in public transport, while female passengers often face maltreatment, bullying, and coercion, by transporters, co-passengers, and the common public during their travel from home to workplace/ school and back. Being voiceless, with no legal protection, and no attention from public representatives, women across the country were forced to endure mental depression and maltreatment in society. Meanwhile visiting the market, and traveling by train, bus, or taxi had been a painful experience for Pakistani females in all parts of the country.
The PPP-led Sindh government has initiated multiple mass transit projects in Karachi, Hyderabad, and Sukkar over the past few months. The launching of a dedicated female bus service in major cities is an adorable decision of the Sindh government which was a long-standing demand of working women and students across the country. This endeavor will provide affordable, tension-free, and luxurious travel to women travelers on major routes in their cities.
Presently, our society faces various social and justice issues relating to women as they feel insecure at home and outside, including their workplace, during travel, in markets as well as educational institutions because of bias, uncultured and vicious behavior of their male colleagues, relatives, and neighbors. Over the years, the absence of the law, poor investigations, and no prosecution of the culprits had turned the criminals into sanguinary creatures, while denial of share in inheritance, kidnappings, rape, assassination, and acid throwing on girls/women are common in our society. At the same time, reducing space for women/girls in the name of religion, culture, and sometimes safety/security is another phenomenon that squeezed free space for women in the country.
Although, the government has worked a lot to empower women still there is room for improvement in the legal framework, social code, and institutional ethics to provide them with equal rights, and access to justice as well as a conducive and secure environment to prosper and live a happy life in their nation.
