Women's only [in
Pink].
I grew up hating
pink, it was girly and then when I became a women I was told pink is
cute. I do agree it is cute.
I see throngs of people
rushing to the metro. I missed this rush of Delhi metro. I see
thousands and thousands of them. I see a section of women only
section devoid of Delhi men. Ah! Women's only, and that too in Pink.
What a relief.
For people who are not
accustomed to Delhi men, we do need some crash course. They are bit
different. Little bit of hooting and a little bit of whistling thrown
in. Delhi has a past for these men.
So I was new to this
women's only section. I was used to travelling with people from other
sex. I was used to being alert all the time. I was always defensive.
There were always some hustle and bustle and I was always pushed. But
it was nothing to do with men inside, it was just the part of being a
crowd, a crazy crowd.
This women's only was
different. Yes, there was a crowd, there was pushing and lack of
space. But there was a sense of calmness. As though we were all
united by a sisterhood, some sort of solidarity. I saw women dressing
up, touching on their make ups in the metro now. I saw women
generally being relaxed. I myself was no more tensed or alert. There
was nothing to worry. I could notice it was generally used more by
younger generation. The ones who were dressed up; Who had higher
chances of being stared at, This was like a heaven for them.
So I made it a point to
travel only in women's section. I ran to get to the coaches at time,
I stood in for extra minutes even if there was space in general
category. I enjoyed this freedom in this Utopian sense of coach for
women. I was not aware how I was teaching myself a fear of the other
sex.
I used to see the men
section sometimes, it was always packed. Well Delhi metro was
generally packed, so it was not like a new thing but this time the
view looked different. Slowly the number of women in general category
were reducing. Yes, more and more women were opting for women's only.
We could see some men standing at the middle of the two coaches and
staring at this Utopian world. Yes, it had loads of women of
different sizes and shapes.
Michel Foucault, a French
philosopher had once mentioned about a phenomenon called panoptican.
Panopticon discusses about having a security vigilance write inside
the victim. Its an art where instead of looking at the inmates from
outside, one looks at them from centre, from within.
And never realized but
Foucault's panopticon was inside me now. I would interpret him in my
sweet own way. I was developing my own check system where the ladies
coach was the safe world and the general coach was unsafe. No one
said this, it was not written anywhere. There were no laws about it.
Over time I just realized I had instituted a panopticon right inside
me. I was scared, and I was scared of my own mind.
General coach was always
an option, I could always enter it. But somehow with time, I could no
more enter. Yes, a bit of schizophrenic identity might be thrown in,
but I was not ready. I had started becoming too relaxed in my comfort
zone. I could no longer enter the general category. There was a fear
of those men, I started developing this fear that they would stare. I
was becoming handicapped, I needed my social protectionism all along.
Yes, I was all happy in the women's only section, but it never
tackled the issue of woman feeling safer. I had imbibed the fear in
me instead imbibing a respect in them .
So what was the need for
the protectionist attitude? Did it really help protect me?
Was it not downplaying
the purpose behind it?
I did not feel liberated,
I just felt more handicapped.
With time I developed a
fear of entering a general category where I was a usual commuter
before. Now I feel like I am encroaching an untouched territory. I
always feel like I am being gawked on. The protectionism played the
other way round. The panopticon instead of being kept outside in the
open; was kept inside my mind. The eyes I was trying to avert, were
becoming my own eyes.
2 months and I still
travel in ladies coach. There are moments in the rush of the day,
when I am at ease, when I am not worried being harassed, or raped in
these women coaches, and then there are moments I do look around to
get a glimpse of a cute guy. And then I go out of that safety box and
get mixed in the crowd.
Now days I spend some
time of my life fighting with a guy telling him to go to the general
category. Sometimes its one and sometimes I see half of the coach
being taken over men. I ask them, tell them, fight with them and in
some instances even resorted to calling the driver. I am always
stared with a perplexed look. And the usual dose of questions thrown
at me, Tumahara kya jaata hai, aapke paas to seat hai, there are
other guys also?
I
feel let down, when I see women giving me those stares, when women
justify the men standing in the ladies coach. Their silence hurts me,
and gets me thinking maybe I should just adopt apathy. One person
will not be able to make a change, how long will you fight.
How do I instill the
message in them and not in me ? How do I tackle this fear without
foregoing my ease. These are questions I have been struggling to
answer.
I want the other coaches
to answer. The colours other than pink to respond this time.
