Tuesday, December 13, 2022
What’s in World Bank’s new toolkit on making urban transport better for Indian women?
On December 8, the World Bank launched a “Toolkit on Enabling Gender Responsive Urban Mobility and Public Spaces in India” with the aim of suggesting ways to make public transport in Indian cities more inclusive of women’s travelling requirements.
The toolkit emphasises on the importance of integrating a gender lens in transport policies and infrastructure, making various recommendations on interventions that can help make urban transport safer, especially for women. It brings together 50 case studies of best practices and efforts from across the world, along with a special inculcation of the Indian context.
Poor public transport curtails women’s financial independence and agency
Studies show that women, especially those from lower socio-economic groups, are among the biggest users of public transport in Indian cities. Their dependence on public transport stems from lower discretionary incomes. Further, women have unique mobility patterns, often travelling shorter distances, using multiple modes of transport, and travelling with dependents, during “off-peak hours”.
Currently, urban mobility systems are not catered to these unique needs of women. This can make travel inconvenient, unsafe, and also more expensive for them, putting an additional burden on a section of society which is already disadvantaged. While many women use public transport on a daily basis out of compulsion, the state of public transport systems has a major impact on a variety of decisions made by women.
Studies have shown that lack of safe, inexpensive and reliable public transport has a profound impact on women’s ability to access education and employment opportunities, in turn leading to poorer life outcomes for them. India’s female labour force participation rate is among the lowest in the world, standing at just 30% in 2019-20. Lack of viable urban transport is frequently cited as a major impediment for women to access better employment opportunities.
Studies have also shown how distance from home impacts women’s choice of colleges and other educational institutions — and by implication their financial independence and agency.
Safety, efficiency and cost are major concerns
Lack of safety and also the lack of a perception of safety are a major impediment for women when it comes to accessing public transport. Dearth of good street lighting, no reliable last mile transport, and high waiting time at remote bus stops are just some of the challenges in this regard.
Crucially, beyond being safe, public transport infrastructure also needs to be perceived to be safe, as it is the perception that guides decisions to use such transport. With safety issues turning women away from using public transport, a vicious cycle is created — unsafe transport leads to fewer women travelling out which in turn leads to fewer women out in public spaces which actually make these spaces even more unsafe.
Since the burden of care work (mostly unpaid) lies disproportionately on women, they often need to plan their travel far more meticulously than men, having to juggle various responsibilities at home and work.
For instance, a working mother might have to plan her travel schedule around the school timings of her child and the office timings of her husband. This means that women have a far greater need for public transport to be time-wise reliable and efficient with longer waiting times and delays having a deleterious effect on them.
Women also face higher costs of travelling. This is mainly because of two reasons.
First, women have to stitch together various short commutes to fulfil the many responsibilities they have. For instance, a typical day for a working mother might involve commutes from home to school back to home, then to her place of work, then back to school and back to home. The World Bank recognises this as “trip chaining” and this increases travel costs.
Second, women often also make decisions to use certain kinds of more expensive routes or forms of transport on account of them being perceived to be more safe. For instance, women often take longer routes to travel which are perceived to be more safe, rather than travelling through “unsafe areas”.
All these factors amount together as a “pink tax” that specifically burden women and impede them from making optimal decisions for themselves.
What does the World Bank toolkit suggest?
The World Bank suggests a four-pillared approach to help address prevailing issues in urban transport for women.
First, there has to be greater effort made to understand the on-ground situation with a gender lens. Gender blind planning and infrastructure development leaves major gaps that specifically impact women but are often not overtly visible. The first step to addressing these gaps is to better identify what they are. Any new transport policy or infrastructure development must be preceded by an honest evaluation of issues concerning women.
Second, once prevailing issues are identified, policies and development plans must reflect the concerns of women. For this to happen, there must be more women in key institutions in charge of decision making. Until such time women are not adequately represented, their needs are always likely to be secondary. Thus key to actually inculcating a gender lens in public transport planning and development is involving and giving authority to more women stakeholders in the first place.
Third, the toolkit emphasises on building gender sensitivity and awareness among service providers through mandatory programmes and community action. Everyone from the bus conductor to local beat constables must be aware of concerns that women have and how to address them,
Fourth, investment has to be made in better infrastructure and services with a focus on women-friendly design. While increasing services and strengthening infrastructure is a good idea in general, if such development is made from a specific gender lens, it is far more useful. For example, while creating new bus stops is good, it would be even better if these bus stops were designed to be level with the floors of buses, adequate lighting, SOS buttons, and well-maintained washrooms.
Some concrete interventions that the toolkit suggests include creation of wide obstruction-free footpaths, street lighting, clear signages, dedicated bicycle lanes, introduction of short and circuitous bus routes, and subsidising/making free public transport for women.
Who does this toolkit help?
According to the World Bank, the toolkit contains practical tools that can inform a wide set of policymakers as well as private or community-based organisations. The aim is for this toolkit to be a reference for any entity engaging in any work regarding public transport and urban mobility. Not only does this tool kit provide many practical interventions, it also highlights certain thematic issues that one can encounter in this space.
Crucially, the point of this toolkit is not to make gender an additional concern for policy makers and developers. Rather, it is to integrate a gender lens into everyday planning and development in order to make our cities safer and more accessible to women.
Written by Arjun Sengupta
Source: Indian Express, 10/12/22
PT Usha becomes first woman Indian Olympic Association chief: A look at the life of ‘Payyoli Express’
Former Indian athlete PT Usha became the new chief of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Saturday (December 10), as well as its first woman president.
The 58-year-old Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha – for short – is recognised as a phenom in Indian athletics and came onto the scene during the 1980s. Later, she became active as a coach and member of sports administration and was nominated as a Rajya Sabha MP in 2022 by the central government.
Early years: A village girl showing promise
Born in a small village near Payyoli, Kerala, PT Usha’s talent was spotted early. When in the fourth grade, she comfortably beat a school champion three years her senior in a race. Her graceful form and unsuspecting pace awed the audience. She continued performing well at the school level, earning a Rs. 250 scholarship and a place at the GVHSS (Sports) in Kannur, a Kerala government-run school with a special focus on sports.
At Kannur, she was coached by O.M. Nambiar, a former athlete himself, from 1977. Having first spotted her at a prize distribution ceremony, he provided her with technical guidance. The next year, Usha won six medals, including four golds at the inter-state meet for juniors in Kollam.
At this point, Usha was competing in multiple disciplines – from hurdles to long jump and high jump. “What impressed me at first sight about Usha was her lean shape and fast walking style. I knew she could become a very good sprinter,” said Nambiar in an interview with George Iype.
Becoming the ‘Payyoli Express’
Soon Usha burst onto the national scene, winning multiple medals and setting records in the 1979 national games and the 1980 national inter-state meet. Her performances earned her a call-up to the Indian contingent for the 1980 Moscow Olympics. At the age of just 16 years, she became the youngest sprinter to ever represent India at the biggest stage for track and field athletes. While she was unable to make it out of the heats for both the 100m and 200m events, the big stage would provide her with much-needed experience for the future.
In 1981, she set national records for both 100m and 200m sprints. At the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi, she fully entered the nation’s imagination as she scored silver medals in both the 100m and 200m races. In 1983, she would break her own 200m record and set a new 400m national record.
By the time the Los Angeles Olympics of 1984 arrived, PT Usha had already become Indian athletics’ poster child with expectations to bring Olympic glory to a country that had last won only one Olympic medal in individual sports thus far. The Payyoli Express had left the station.
Glory and heartbreak in Los Angeles
The LA Olympics would bring Usha to the cusp of winning an Olympic medal. She was fitter, better trained and far more experienced than the callow 16-year-old who had struggled in Moscow. After her performances in 400m races over the last couple of years, coach Nambiar suggested she put more focus on the 400m hurdles.
Some good performances in the run-up to the tournament followed, where she even beat American favourite Judi Brown, and breezed past her competition in the heats, setting a new commonwealth record (55.54 seconds) in the semi-finals. The finals beckoned, with a tough field of opponents facing her.
After a false start, the race began with Usha being slow off the blocks. However, she ran an epic sprint in the final 100 meters, missing out on a bronze medal by a whisker: while her leg was ahead of eventual bronze medalist Cristieana Cojocaru, she had not dipped her chest over the finish line, costing her the medal by one-hundredth of a second.
Her time (55.42 seconds) was a new national record that stands to date. This performance remains her career’s most memorable yet perhaps the most heartbreaking in the history of Indian sports, alongside Milkha Singh’s 1960 disappointment.
After the Olympics, PT Usha continued excelling through the 1980s and 1990s. In the 1985 Asian Championships in Jakarta, she won six medals, including five golds, setting a record for most medals in a single Asian Championships. She won another four medals at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games. In the 1990s she struggled with a recurrent knee problem, and the ‘Queen of Indian Athletics’ finally hung up her boots in 2000. Overall, Usha won 23 medals in the Asian track and field events from the 1980s; 14 were gold.
What can we expect of her presidency?
The IOA has been mired in controversy for a long time. In fact, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned the IOA in 2012 for government interference and corruption. Like much of the developing world, the story of Indian sports frequently gets marred by neglect, nepotism and corruption. Politicians’ interference in sporting bodies has also led to the athletes’ issues taking the backseat.
In this landscape, PT Usha has become the first Olympian and the first international medallist to head the IOA in its 95-year-old history. After retirement, she was actively involved in athletics as a coach and mentor for budding Indian athletes. Drawing from her own experiences and the challenges with the lack of facilities and exposure, she opened the Usha School of Athletics. Under her guidance, athletes such as Kerala’s Tintu Luka and Jisna Matthews have excelled, even making it to the Olympic stage.
She has also been vocal about various issues concerning athletes in India. As someone with the stature of very few in Indian sports outside of cricket, she has routinely talked about the state of Indian sports administration, and how the lack of scouting, grooming and talent management has led to India’s historically disappointing show at the Olympics.
Written by Arjun Sengupta
Source: Indian Express, 12/12/2022
Tuesday, December 06, 2022
Quote of the Day December 6, 2022
“Each person would do well to remember that all successful business stands on the foundation of morality.”
Henry Ward Beecher
“प्रत्येक व्यक्ति के लिए यह याद रखना बेहतर होगा कि सभी सफल व्यवसाय नैतिकता की नींव पर आधारित होते हैं।”
हैनरी वार्ड बीचर
Current Affairs-December 4, 2022
INDIA
- President of India presents National awards for the Empowerment of Persons With Disabilities for 2021 and 2022
- First G-20 Sherpa meeting begins in Udaipur, Rajasthan
- India, US conclude 18th edition of joint military exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas’
- India assumes the Presidency of UN Security Council for the month of December
- Tamilnadu increases monthly aid for Persons with disabilities from ₹1,000 to ₹1,500
- Rajeeva Laxman Karandikar appointed Chairperson of National Statistical Commission
- Indian Navy Day 2022 observed on December 4
ECONOMY & CORPORATE
- Civil Aviation Ministry issues guidelines for PLI scheme to boost domestic drone industry
- Odisha gets over ₹10.5 lakh cr investment proposals during Make in Odisha (MIO Conclave 2022)
- Government allows sale of electoral bonds through from December 5-12
WORLD
- International Cheetah Day- Kuno cheetah kills Nilghai calf
- US Air Force unveils its newest nuclear stealth bomber- B-21
- Estonia to buy HIMARS rocket launchers from US
SPORTS
- Unnati Hooda becomes first Indian to enter U-17 women’s singles final in Asia Junior Badminton Championships
- FIFA World Cup: Argentina, Netherlands enter quarter-finals
- Uttar Pradesh government launches ‘One District One Sport’ scheme
Current Affairs- December 5, 2022
INDIA
- Parakram Diwas celebrated at Jaisalmer to mark 51st anniversary of Longewala Battle
- Millets-Smart Nutritive Food Conclave
- Swar Dharohar music, art, and literature festival was inaugurated by the Culture Ministry under Kalanjali.
- Ministry of Culture organizes Daakroom letter writing carnival in Association with Department of Post
- Delhi-NCR invokes Stage III of revised Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)
- Karnataka to vaccinate 48 lakh children against Japanese Encephalitis
- Maharashtra sets up Divyang department for the welfare of differently-abled people with a fund allocation of Rs 1,143 crore.
ECONOMY & CORPORATE
- India can sustain 9% GDP growth for many years: EAC member Sanjeev Sanyal
- World Bank to finance USD 250 million to Bangladesh for environment management
- Abu Dhabi seeks Indian investments; invites start-ups to establish hubs
- Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries + (OPEC+) agrees to keep output levels unchanged
WORLD
- Indonesia: Semeru Volcano erupts in Java Island
- NASA astronauts install new roll-out solar array on International Space Station
- Isaac Herzog becomes first Israeli President to visit Bahrain
- Iran abolishes ‘morality police’ known as the Gasht-e Ershad or ‘Guidance Patrol’
SPORTS
- FIFA World Cup 2022: France Defeats Poland and Qualifies for Quarter-Finals- Giroud becomes France’s all-time top scorer with 52 goals.
- Australia defeats India 5-1 and wins hockey series
- National Shooting Championship: Manu Bhaker & Sarabjot Singh clinch Mixed Team Pistol title
Current Affairs-December 6, 2022
INDIA
- Dr BR Ambedkar’s 67th Mahaparinirvan Diwas observed on December 6
- Winter Session to begin from Dec 7; Rajya Sabha releases Code of Conduct
- Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates the creation of an integrated ‘Agriculture Investment Portal’
- President approves new design of ‘President’s Standard and Colour’ and Indian Navy Crest.
- Supreme Court to hold a hackathon to identify innovative ideas for refining process of ‘filing to listing’ of cases.
ECONOMY & CORPORATE
- RBI imposes Rs 5-lakh penalty on Bharat Co-operative Bank for violating norms
- LIC launches WhatsApp services for policy holders
- India’s first gold ATM and world’s first real time gold ATM launched in Hyderabad
WORLD
- Orion capsule of NASA’s Artemis I mission makes its closest approach to moon
- Archeologists discover mummies with golden tongue in Egypt
- 17th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting (APRM) of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) begins in Singapore
- India, Germany ink deal on comprehensive migration and mobility partnership
SPORTS
- FIFA world Cup 2022: Croatia beat Japan 3-1 in penalty shootout to reach the World Cup quarterfinals
- Odisha launches Trophy tour of the FIH Odisha hockey men’s World Cup 2023
- Six Indian para-shuttlers clinch gold medals at Peru Para Badminton International in Lima
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