SHAFAQNA PAKISTAN (Shia News Agency)
In an orthodox country, launching a women service like “ Pink Rickshaw” could be something maverick. Therefore this scheme has attracted the attention of the world and Pakistani media which is abuzz with news of Pink Rickshaw on the roads of Lahore. The ladies-only Pink Rickshaw service has put women from Lahore in the driving seat to generate revenue for their families. The service was launched with the intention of providing women from the lower social strata of society an opportunity to travel in comfort and at the same time giving them financial independence.
The International Labour Organisation, in a report titled “Decent Transportation for Women”, has found that although public transportation in Pakistan, is in general, afflicted by insufficiency of resources, ineffective planning and poor coordination, the said state of affairs impacts women more severely and exacerbates their socioeconomic exclusion. It is hardly surprising then that news reports and footage of the women’s “pink” rickshaw scheme, launched a few weeks back in Lahore by an NGO, the Environment Protection Fund, caused much stir and excitement. The scheme offers pink rickshaws to female drivers on instalments for the purpose of safe transportation of women or families. Recent calls for implementation of the Government of Punjab’s “pink” scooty scheme, proposed in 2013, have likewise caught media attention. Battery-operated pink scooters, with a 50-cc engine capacity, are apparently to be distributed among deserving young women on merit basis. Both initiatives, if effectively implemented and thereafter extended to other (particularly semi-urban and rural) parts of Pakistan, could transform the lives of many women.
With this scheme women can go back and forth with much less fear and apprehension of harassment. But the question is that why not Pakistan brings a system in which women could move scot free without any fear of apprehension and harassment. Introducing Pink Rickshaws for the security of women is a good step but it is myopic.
pakistan.shafaqna.com
