Last week, I threw the floor open for a debate on the Delhi’s metro’s latest innovation — the ladies coupe. Most of the responses I got were from men. And, not all of them were against the pink phenomenon. Of course, some of them had their own quirky reasons.
Satyendra Shah and Ramesh Lalwani, both of whom wrote in promptly, not only appreciate the women’s coupe, they also feel that reserving seats in other general compartments will help women who travel with their husbands and children.
Rohit Bose celebrates the move, too, but his reasons are... well... different. “For my sake and that of other innocent guys who do nothing to irritate the women, but still get glared at, there should more seats, maybe even more bogeys for women. The more seats for ladies, the lesser the number of them in the crowd!” he writes.
Nikhil Sapre says travelling with his sister made him realise how threatened women can feel when they’re surrounded by men, specially during the rush hour. “Neither am I Rajinikant nor am I as big Khali, so I couldn’t fight with everyone to stop that glare… today it happened with me, so I can imagine how ladies feel!”
Warning of a sense of resentment building among men, Abhishek Sinha narrates an incident when a group of men shouted at girls sitting in the general compartment en route to Gurgaon. “In the age of gender equality, it ironic to have such discriminatory arrangements…I hope the authorities will note the resentment among the poor men these days!” Ajay Poonia calls this a “typical case of regressive thinking a la Ekta Kapoor serials”. Abhishek Bhardwaj, who witnessed a “big fat lady” scream at a young chap who entered the coupe by mistake, says, “I respect the decision of given personal space to women, but why do people take undue advantage of this and forget that it’s always good to be humble and respectful?”
{{/usCountry}}Warning of a sense of resentment building among men, Abhishek Sinha narrates an incident when a group of men shouted at girls sitting in the general compartment en route to Gurgaon. “In the age of gender equality, it ironic to have such discriminatory arrangements…I hope the authorities will note the resentment among the poor men these days!” Ajay Poonia calls this a “typical case of regressive thinking a la Ekta Kapoor serials”. Abhishek Bhardwaj, who witnessed a “big fat lady” scream at a young chap who entered the coupe by mistake, says, “I respect the decision of given personal space to women, but why do people take undue advantage of this and forget that it’s always good to be humble and respectful?”
{{/usCountry}}Most of the women, who wrote in are, like me, undecided about whether they like the pink bogey or not. Aakanksha Rustagi writes, “Somewhere we fight for equality and then we do this!” Aashima Sharma says, that while women should demand their rights, it is prudent if men mind their ways, rather than have rules imposed on them!”
My favourite bid for equality, however, came from Pavneet Dua. Her suggestion is classic. Reserve another bogey, this time for Men Only!