Along with working male passengers of the Metro Rail, the working women are also rising in the platform as it is considered one of the safest travel way for the women in the capital.
After observing the metro rail's Shewrapara station, it was seen that as soon as the metro arrives, they are getting on the metro following the discipline. Many of the women passengers were going to the destination standing in the crowd without getting a place to sit. But there was no resentment among the passengers as this first coach of the metro is reserved only for women passengers.
Although women can travel with male passengers in other coaches of the metro, the metro rail authorities have made special arrangements to make the movement of women safe, seamless and comfortable which has given relief to women of different classes and professions and ages, including working women.
Apart from working women, female students have also started using the metro to reach their destinations quickly and comfortably. Mothers are taking their children to school and housewives and elderly women are also slowly starting to board the metro. In the megacity Dhaka, women and young women of different professions and classes, including working women, have to face many difficulties to reach their destination. Public transport in Dhaka is not women-friendly. Although a few seats are reserved for women passengers in public transports, many men and women do not get the opportunity to get on the bus by pushing the passengers during office hours. Many people do not dare to get on the bus alone due to unwanted situations and fear of safety. Although some BRTC buses are running in the capital for women passengers, many do not know about it. In this situation, the metro rail in Dhaka's public transport is a blessing for women passengers.
While talking with Sabina Akhter, a NGO official said, “Earlier, it used to take two to two and a half hours to reach the Press Club from Mirpur-10 by bus. Now I get there in 15 to 20 minutes. If the crowd in the metro is high, it does not feel bad if you do not get a seat. I reached my destination by metro with other female passengers. But the journey on the bus was not so comfortable before. With the arrival of the metro, the hassle of working women going to the office has reduced a lot.”
Rahatul Israt, a student of Dhaka University (DU), said the DU station of the metro rail will be inaugurated on December 13. So far, I used to get off at the Secretariat station from Pallabi and then go to the campus in a rickshaw. After the inauguration of the DU station, I will be able to get down on my own campus. It takes a long time to get on the campus bus or any other vehicle. But in the metro, I can reach the campus in the blink of an eye.
AN elderly woman named Najnin Akhter was taking her daughter Sabina from Uttara to her sister's house in Shewrapara. She said that he used to go to CNG for so long, now he often visits her sister's house by metro.
Najnin said I never thought that a train running over my head could travel so fast. The elderly woman also liked the illumination and modern management of the metro rail stations. Women of different classes and professions, including working women, have already expressed relief at the initiative of the metro rail to make the movement of women safe and smooth. There are reserved gates for women in the metro rail. There are guidelines on this gate and platform. Apart from this, there are separate toilets for women passengers at metro stations.
ARS
