For the last Rose Cafe of the semester, GRF Seema discussed how the plains of gender and transportation cross specifically in less developed countries. Her study seemed to focus mostly on India, comparing both formal and informal modes of transportation with that in the western world. While there is no definite guidelines that box in formal versus informal transportation, formal modes seem to be the ones that have documentation and are approved by the government. Informal modes are those that stemmed from demand and are not government sanctioned. It seemed difficult for the students in attendance to connect the two, but once Seema explained the scope a bit, conversation ensued.

One of the big areas Seema focused on was the different ways between how men versus women used transportation. For example, men have a more linear path throughout their day, often cycling between home and work. Meanwhile, women have a couple of more stops along the way, including dropping their children off at school, going grocery shopping, and grabbing a bite to eat. This simple difference has huge implications on public transport: women rely on it more because they have more places to go, and these places are often devalued in comparison to men’s.

I was very surprised with Seema’s presentation mostly because I had no idea what to expect. The only connections I could have previously made between transportation and gender was sexual assault. Once we delved into sexual assault on public transportation, the discourse quickly picked up. One of the more discussed solutions to this problem was making separate cars for women and men. While this does immediately solve some of the problems, it seemed that many students thought this would be counterproductive. Even though women had a safe space, men would not see it as their responsibility to curb assault. Also, once women step out of their specified cars, they would no longer be protected, so is it really an effective measure?

I personally see sexual assault as something that needs both an immediate and long term solution. Having separate cars is the necessary immediate effect needed to ensure women have access to public transportation. Yes, there needs to be more institutional changes that help enforce the illegality of sexual assault, but systematic change is seldom effective without social change behind it. As one of the other attendees said, these solutions paired with some sort of educational program would present the most promising outcome.