I know I am embarking on a controversial subject here. But I couldnt resist putting down my thoughts here after going through my friend Abhi’s blog (abhilifelapazzo.blogspot.com). Though a Malayali, he was raised in Nagpur and he is at times confused by some of our social practices. He has rasied some pertinent questions in his latest post.

One of the questions he raised deals with the seats reserved for ladies in our public transports. This must have been instituted with the best of the intentions, may be as a welfare measure to ensure a minimum number of seats for the less agile amongst us. But it needs to be said that without attacking the basic premise, it only serves to widen the gender difference perception. I agree that this law needs to be read in connotation with the growing instances of atrocities and abuses against women who rely solely on our public transport system.

I remember my school days. Those were the days when boys and girls were asked to sit in different groups even in lower classes. Any healthy interaction between a boy and girl were observed as suspicious both by the students as well as the teachers! Among the boys, it was standard practice to ostracise a friend who was seen talking to a class mate of the other sex. Now, I believe that this kind of an attitude helps only to bring in a perverted curiosity to know more about members of the other sex. This attitude, fortunately is not seen once you get to college. But I feel that the damage is already done by then. Nowadays, things may have changed for better at least in private schools. Lets hope that the new generation would at least have a healthy mindset.

I read somewhere that the atrocities performed in the buses and other public transport are often the handiwork of men in their early forties and fifties….. do we see a connection here? Could one of the root causes be the separation they had to practise at a young age?

And now here is an other related scenario. Apart from the reserved seats, a woman can sit in the general seats too in public transports. But what if there is a single lady in a two seater in the general quota? Though, law permits a man to occupy the second seat, not all dare to do it.. for to do it, most often you have to survive the dirty looks aka "how dare you sit next to me ?" looks from the lady who has already occupied one of the seats!