Life of a daily female bus traveler

[ahmadjee]

A pretty good article!

Bus stop Blues By Munazza Siddiqui

Eighty-five to 90 per cent of all women in Karachi who go out of their homes for various reasons use public transport. A woman is lucky if she doesn’t have to walk far for a bus, thanks to the thousands of informal bus stops from where she can catch a bus to anywhere she wants. This also takes care of the ‘eyeing’ en route. She would be specially lucky if her intended bus is a W-11 or Gul Coach as they come every other minute, sparing her the ordeal of ignoring the leers of jobless mohalla youths who have nothing better to do …
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The story of bus-stop harassment is another one. Any woman seen waiting for more than five minutes is considered “easy” by all. I can swear they time it by the watch. A lot of buses on less-frequented routes are spaced out at roughly 10 minutes. The right to harass at bus stops is not just exercised by the men waiting there but also by passers-by. Almost every car walla just has to honk while passing by a woman. For kicks I suppose. The worst among them slow down their cars to pass a sleazy comment or to offer a ‘lift’. This is where camaraderie sets in. They don’t stop for you to get abusive, the evening rush means there are others in line waiting for their turn.
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Though not many in number, there are generally three types of men who harass women. The first are the shy ones: they just stare, and if you stare back they get flustered and look the other way, making you seem as the one who’s staring. The second are the ones who not only stare but also like to whistle and pass lewd comments. They should be ignored but only if you don’t have an equally lewd reply or if you are not in the mood to stoop to their level. The third ones are the worst. For lack of a better word, I like to call them ‘predators’ because irrespective of looks or appearance they paw or pinch. Now, these types should not be ignored at any cost, and for the betterment for womankind they should be slapped really hard. The kind of slap that is meant to hurt, not humiliate. They are just bullies and the only thing that deters them is a publicaction against them. The traffic policemen around are usually of great help, but if none is around then throwing a suitable tantrum suffices. The other men around as a rule come to the rescue; this is perhaps the only time they use their misplaced sense of honour correctly.
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our rulers of the early '80s took decisions without thinking and dwelling into the rationale of past wisdom. The crackdown on the red-light area in Karachi, in a fit of religious zeal, opened the Pandora’s box and this evil spread out in the whole city. All the major bus stops became pick-up points. Women (and men) of all types could be found standing there. Gradually, the distinction between respectable women and those of questionable morals became diffused. Hence unabashed harassment.
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[Yusuf_Khan]

So there are losers all over the world .Anything surprising about that.

ppl. with least education ,skill no employment loitering only have a devils workshop in there mind.

So what next you will post description of dirt & garbage lying near the bus stand & stinking & flies ???

http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/confused.gif

Just b/c i stumbled into this useles puposeless thread ,wasted time of writer, poster, Dawn ,Gup Shup, & me JUST LIKE THOSE loafers given attention!!

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door ke dhol suhawan

Familiarity breeds Contempt

[This message has been edited by Yusuf Khan (edited December 28, 2001).]

[Sania_Saeed]

I think its a very good article. I have been harassed quite a few times, when I was as young as 12 years old. That can almost be called child molestation. The article is right on the money!

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If your reading this, your wasting your time.

[Benediction]

No doubt that it happens.

But I for one am sick of seeing such similar articles appearing in the The News and Dawn, written by every new female journalist who for the first time (and probably the last time) commutes using the public transportation. Its definitely a new world for those who have been pampered through out their lives.

[Mr_Xtreme]

A damning indictment of Karachi without a doubt. However, on the plus side, the author makes no mention of any other city, so we should assume that the other 95% of Pakistan is absolutely fine.

[ahmadjee]

I think most guppies have hardly ever used the Pakistan Public transport as a regular way of commute. Otherwise they would have been far more sympathetic to the writer.

[Nadia_H]

Great article.