In the modern era, women and men consider each other as equals. Both are given equal privileges and liberties. Both are superior in all fields. And both value each other's decisions.
But when it comes to safety of women, they take a step back. Metro trains have a reserved compartment for women, but that is not called equality. If women and men think equally then both should be travelling together.
Both males and females agree on being equal and overcoming the hardships of life together. On the other hand, when talked about reservation, individuals were more inclined in favour of reserved compartments for women.
“I'm a lady and I'm striving for equality as much as everyone. But that doesn't mean I don't want separate compartments for women. The separate compartments should be treated as a measure against cramming a woman with a baby and 3 bags onto a compartment which is filled to the brim of people. It's just a matter of convenience,” said Ruchi Singh Vasudev.
“This classification is reasonable. There isn't any violation of equality as it is for safety of the girls. It's like similar to having the reservation policy. It is for the betterment of the backward classes and is reasonable. It isn't against equality of all,” says Nishi Bharatiya.
Shraddha Shashishar believes Equality has nothing to do with conservation.
“It is religion, morals and values. Not being discriminatory, but Muslims are the biggest example to this. It is convenient for men too. They needn't be worried about falling over the women and other awkward situations,” said Shraddha.
Saloni patel, however, always feels more comfortable travelling in general coaches.
She said, “I travel in metros, even during rush hours, and personally I prefer general coaches more than the ladies section.
Interestingly, Amrita Rao, a college student was more forthright in her opposition to reserved coaches for females.
“If we girls stop travelling in the general compartment, it will make boys stronger, and will they will feel superior to us,” said Amrita.
When men were questioned on this topic, they also voiced their opinion in favour of having separate women compartment. They were not only worried about the women's safety but also their convenience.
“No matter what our society thinks and says but 60 percent people, rather males travelling in metros should be kept away to avoid eve teasing. Male chauvinism still exists. So rather take precautions than suffer, says Anshul Gupta.
Aayush Banger believes that it's not about equality or the metros being unsafe.
“I individually want the women to travel with us. This way they will not continue to be scared. The only negative end is, the general compartment is very crowded and the men are more in number, therefore it's suitable for both the genders to travel separately,” he added.
There is too much of unwanted touching in the general compartment. And the females would feel more secure in their own separate section,” says Sahil Khandelwal.
Kushagra Agarwal has a very fresh approach to the discussion.
“In the 21st century, where men and women are equal footed at every step in life, the methodology to tackle the problem of the differences between the two sexes needs to be more aggressive. For women to be equally treated, they need to make an independent step at every step in life. By seeing these privileges, men tend to have an innate mentality that yes women are weak and need support. This is the one thing that needs to b removed. And this is only possible if we restrict these ideas of special coaches and try to establish equality with a modern approach,” he said.
Every individual is different, having a different mindset altogether. Yes the upcoming generation is having a broad approach to social issues and some still continue to trust the earlier beliefs. We as human beings need to respect each one's choice. Equality exists but not in every area of life. And somewhere, at some point, we have to accept that.
