Bacha khan said, “If you wished to know how civilized a culture is, look at how they treat their women.” Women are the main part of any society in the world, and most of the countries in the world give equal opportunities to their females. Every religion and developed society believes in the equality of women in every field of life though even in this era gender gap still exists in Pakistan. It needs to be abridged if we, as a nation, inclusively want to achieve exceptional development. Female capital is an important factor for the social, economic, political, and environmental development of the country, and a major headway in leveraging this potential would be to make transportation safe and secure, especially when Pakistan is seeing a rise, albeit a gradual one, in participation of women in the formal sector. Islam, too, believes in this concept; as a Muslim country, Pakistan strives to provide equality, every possible facility, and proper protection to its citizens including women so that they can participate in activities that make them perfect and well-respected members of society. For that purpose, only the Sindh government has launched women-only ‘Pink’ buses in Karachi, hiring female hostesses for the first time in any intra-city commuter service in Pakistan. The Government took this significant step for the women so that they could safely travel and go where they wanted, particularly girls are feeling safe enough to go to their schools, college, and universities. Although if they could feel safe enough to work, then that’s just excellent for our economy, so many of our daughters use public transport to get to their places of study or work even though they are not comfortable or safe in them. These buses will be like a game changer for them, they will be comfortable and they will be confident as they go about their way. So this one little step for women will be a giant step for all Pakistanis. It is rather an efficient step for the betterment and security of women to be part of every department, though it will take some time to spread this positive aspect of government in every sector of theirs.
Female bus hostesses have long served on intercity buses in Pakistan, but the concept was introduced for the first time on intercity buses in Karachi.
A country like Pakistan, with a male-dominated society, where new cases of harassment occur daily and women are insecure due to an increase in rape cases. Another factor is that women are not allowed to go out, and if they do go out for work, they do not consider themselves safe in any part of the country, particularly in Karachi. It is also the responsibility of the government to provide them with security so that their parents give them permission to go for a job and earn for their daily expenses. It claims to be a safe, convenient, affordable, and comfortable transport service that females can opt for during times of economic hardship. As the step taken like pink bus service, it should take steps for security. It is not only the responsibility of the government to take the step, but also the responsibility of every Pakistan, being a citizen and Muslim to give and provide a safe environment. We must bring change, and make effort into developing equality, we have to make our women safe as Quaid-Azam said; “It is essential to provide opportunities to women for their betterment and progress.”
Khalid Mairaj Khosa
The Lex Writer
Khalid Mairaj Khosa
