A video showing male passengers casually sitting in the women's coach in the Delhi Metro has triggered a discussion about women's safety in public spaces. Taking to Instagram, a woman, identified as Aditi Negi, shared the video showing rows of male passengers seated in the women's coach, while the few women onboard looked uncomfortable. In the caption of the post, she said that she entered the women's section at 11 pm, assuming it to be a "safer space". However, when she noticed the coach was largely occupied by men, she was completely shaken.
"Delhi Metro | Women's Coach | Around 11 PM. Sharing something I personally experienced two nights back...I took the last metro in Delhi and chose the women's coach : thinking it would be the safer space. But when I entered, there were men sitting inside. And honestly, it felt really unsettling. At that hour, all I wanted was to feel a little more secure... but that moment completely shook that sense of safety," Ms Negi wrote.
She further questioned the point of a reserved coach for women. "What's the point of a reserved coach, if it can't offer what it promises, especially late at night?" she asked without naming or shaming anyone.
Take a look at the video below:
Since being shared, the video has accumulated more than 2.3 million views. The post struck a chord with many online. Most found it to be a common problem.
"Men need to understand that THE WOMEN'S COACH IS MADE FOR A WOMAN TO FEEL SAFE! Bhai we don't know whose intentions are right and wrong, our families literally wait for us to reach home safe and our work demands working for late hours as well. Kindly sit in the normal coach and let us breathe and feel safe an easy. The uneasiness caused by such acts is literally something I cannot express here. And this is basic laws, what's wrong with y'all?" wrote one user.
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"This is scary! We are allowed to feel safe? Aren't we? Why can't men seem understand that?" commented another.
"There should be a guard in the coach at the night time," suggested a third user.
"The time doesn't matter. I was there in Delhi last December and travelled on the metro few times. Every time I saw guys sitting in the women's coach. There's absolutely no way the guys didn't know that it's a women's coach right? They had to be told to get off and still their reluctant was very visible!!!" shared one user.
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