Hyderabad :

On a day when Union finance minister  P Chidambaram announced the allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for empowerment of women in the country, Hyderabad is already on its way to reclaim the safety of its roads and make them more women-friendly.

Starting Tuesday, an only-women cab service, managed by women and ferrying only women passengers will ply in the city to make travelling a safer experience for city women. In two weeks, women drivers will also be seen ferrying techies from Hi-tec city in five all-new pink autos.

After weeks of training in driving, etiquette and martial arts, four women cab drivers are ready to take over the male-dominated public transport system of the city to begin with.

The ‘She’ cabs are similar to the existing radio cabs in the city with the added feature of GPS devices fitted in them. The tracking devices are connected to police stations across the city as an alarm system. “With the increasing number of cases of violence against women in the city, it is important to have an exclusive transport system for women. Despite the potential challenges I may face, it is a privilege for me to serve members of my community,” said 23-year-old Nagamani, one of the drivers of the ‘She’ cab.

The cabs and the autos are all part of a pilot project, with plans already afoot to start a fleet of cars and autos, manned by a call centre later this year.

The trained drivers are members of the AP Balala Hakkula Sangham, which has taken up this initiative.

In a similar move, an only for women auto service, identified by their women drivers and pink stickers on the body of the vehicles, will ply in and around Hi-tec city and Kukatpally areas. Women from auto driving unions and self-help groups were selected and then trained in driving, etiquette and even martial arts to prepare them for the task ahead.”It was a challenge to get women to come forward for the training programme, but now we are ready to roll out the first batch of all-women autos. We have specifically chosen the Hi tech city area because they need a woman-friendly transport system because of the number of working women professionals there,” said Suresh Raju, founder president of Vaada Foundation, which has initiated the ‘pink auto’ campaign.

As added safety measures, these autos have been provided with pepper spray cans as well as an SOS button that would connect them to the police in case of any emergency.

At a time when the city has been witnessing a spate of crimes against women, including the gangrape of a 23-year-old girl late last year, an exclusive transport system has been welcomed by Hyderabad’s women folk.

“I would definitely feel safer in an auto or cab driven by a woman, especially if it’s late in the day. Such endeavours are necessary and they need to be implemented on a larger scale,” said Harika Suri, who works at a research centre in Banjara Hills.

Isidore Philips, a women’s rights activist, said that such initiatives will help make the city’s public spaces safer for women. “Such initiatives are part of the larger picture of women empowerment as women are entering the male dominated space of public transport. At the same time, they are providing safer travel options, which the city really needs right now,” Philips said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / by Ananya Banerjee, TNN / February 18th, 2014