Please Mend The Gap

Where I do actually enjoy the relative zen of traveling in the “women only” carriage of the Delhi metro - though I could do without the hot pink sanitary towel/toilet signage - there is a lot to say for and against it.

The girl that sighed and commented “what planet do they think they’re from?” or the auntie that single handedly shouted a group of 5 men out of the carriage were fun to observe. Yet these incidents make it easy to forget that it is actually very sad that it is necessary to dedicate a carriage to women in the first place. There was also an embarrassing incident where a man wondered into the ladies’ carriage and started to insult two hermaphrodite ladies telling them that if he wasn’t allowed in this carriage, they certainly weren’t and none of the other ladies interfered.

The creation of separate carriages creates a whole new set of problems and tensions between men and women. Does a ladies only carriage mean that the other carriages are for men? Should the  ladies’ carriage be considered positive or negative discrimination? The ladies carriage may guarantee women’s safety but it simultaneously creates inequality. It makes for a separation instead of a change of mindset. 

And that’s exactly why “Please Mend The Gap” has been started. “Please Mend The Gap” is a volunteer-led initiative to promote gender equality in public spaces. Sporting yellow T-shirts with hand painted messages, they organize flashmobs in the Delhi metro to raise awareness. With their peaceful protests they want to close the divide and demand respect and a pleasant public transport experience for both men and women. This is the first flash mob idea I've come across that doesn't just entertain people, but makes them think.

Join “Please Mend The Gap”  on Facebook, participate in their flashmobs and become part of this great movement.