Twitter-verse has been abuzz discussing the Delhi government's new proposal to make public transport free for women. The Arvind Kejriwal led government has put forth the idea as a way to empower women and increase their safety in the nation's capital, which is notorious for being unsafe for women. Some welcomed the move as revolutionary, out-of-the-box thinking, while others thought it was an outrageous, disastrous idea.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that his government’s proposal would make public transport free for women. This is meant to increase the safety of women. This is still only a proposal and may take a few months to implement.
One of the aims of this proposal is to increase workforce participation of women, which is directly empowering for women. The CM also clarified that this was a subsidy for those women who cannot afford tickets. Women who can afford tickets are encouraged to buy tickets for their travel.
Many of the tweeple thought that the proposal is a bad idea and that it will not improve women’s safety. The need of the hour is to enforce laws and punish offenders rather than to offer freebies.
This tweet expresses the view that many others expressed: why should well-to-do women reap the benefits of free public transport while poor men cannot? Many commentators thought that the freebie should be based on socio-economic criteria and not gender.
Many commentators expressed the view that this would be a waste of money that the Delhi exchequer can ill-afford. Many also felt that the proposal is arbitrary and will also have to involve the centre and other state governments.
There are many other issues that need urgent and immediate attention; the freebie demonstrates that the Delhi government has run out of ideas, feel some.
They felt that this was a great idea; one that should be emulated by other large metros such as Mumbai as well.
Many on social media welcomed the move and felt that it was in line with other AAP welfare initiatives which have improved education and healthcare delivery systems in the state.
There is a large segment of women who simply cannot afford public transport. For such women, this proposal will be a boon if implemented, feel many. Not only would they be able to travel by DTDC buses, they would also be able to enjoy the comfort of the air conditioned metro which would otherwise be impossible for them.
Some people shared statistics about the Delhi government’s budget and how it has managed to balance its books without increasing the tax burden of citizens. Many also expressed the view that this is a better utilisation of public money than the building of giant statues – which cost as much money.
There were several tweets with images of men in drag, men donning burqas and so on; because where there is an issue, there will be memes! Many also expressed the view that offering freebies and sops does not advance the feminist movement; in fact diminishes the struggles of women who have fought for equality. These are all valid arguments and the proposal will probably need a lot of fine tuning before it is implemented.
A lot of people also expressed the view that offering free public transport cannot possibly improve safety of women. Well I believe it can. As of now, men in public spaces vastly outnumber women in public spaces. When it comes to women feeling safe in public, there is safety in numbers. This proposal will encourage more women to use public transport, to work, to be out in public; to visibly and rightfully claim public spaces, to feel secure, to feel as though they do actually belong there.
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