Rules alone can’t change the mindset

Summary

The article discusses the issue of gender discrimination and patriarchal attitudes in India, highlighted by an incident on the Delhi metro where a man refused to give up a seat reserved for women.

Abstract

The article reflects on an incident observed by the author while traveling on the Delhi metro, where a young man refused to vacate a seat reserved for women despite a woman's request. This act, coupled with the man's smug reaction, underscores the prevalent patriarchal mindset in Indian society, which often undermines women's rights and asserts male dominance. The author emphasizes the need for societal change and the importance of individuals, including themselves, to speak up against such attitudes, despite potential backlash, to challenge the status quo and address the root causes of violence against women.

Opinions

The author believes that the reservation of seats for women in the Delhi metro should be respected without question.
The refusal of the man to give up his seat and his subsequent smirk are seen as indicative of a deeply ingrained patriarchal society that expects women to conform to certain boundaries.
The author suggests that the lack of assertiveness by women in such situations is linked to broader societal issues, including violence against women.
There is a recognition that changing such societal attitudes is challenging but necessary, with the author acknowledging their own responsibility to speak up and advocate for change.
The article implies that bystander intervention is crucial in such scenarios, and the author regrets not intervening in the incident they witnessed.

People need to speak up

If you are travelling by metro in Delhi, you will see four seats reserved for women in each coach apart from the first coach reserved for them.

Now, you can debate whether seats should be reserved for women or not, but as long as the seats are blocked for women, you have to follow it. But today, while travelling to the office, I saw a girl asking a boy to vacate the seat reserved for ladies.

Usually, if a man is sitting on the reserved seat, he gets up as soon as a woman requests them, but today was different. This boy just refused to vacate it.

Instead, he raised his arm pointing towards the first coach and although I couldn’t hear what he said, it seemed he asked the girl to go to the first coach as the first coach is reserved for women, and she has no business being here.

It was disturbing, and I thought of intervening, but the girl walked away. And the boy laughed, kind of a smirk, feeling proud about it.

The problem with that attitude is it was visible that that seat was reserved for women, and the guy should have just gotten up. No questions asked.

Second, the boy’s smirk exuded the deeply ingrained patriarchal society that India is. He felt that women shouldn’t be asserting their rights. If they try to, they need to be put in place, a place below men, and they need to behave within the boundaries drawn by the patriarchal society.

If they cross the boundary, there will be consequences and one of the reasons we see violence against women.

How do we change the attitude is difficult to answer, and perhaps another article, but more people need to speak up, including me, although it may draw someone’s ire towards me.

But what needs to be done must be done.