[sustran] Third gender could protect women on Punjab buses

[Asija, Navdeep]

Vibhor Mohan,TNN | Jul 23, 2015, 02.20 AM IST

CHANDIGARH: After Delhi's east district roped in transgender people to
advise women on safety in public transport last year, the Punjab government
could become the first state to hire the third gender as conductors or
safety officers in buses.

Navdeep Asija, Punjab government's traffic adviser appointed by the Punjab
and Haryana high court on July 9, said he had put across the idea during
the hearing of a case on public transport before the high court last week
as part of verbal discussions on making buses safer. "I'll move a proposal
with the transport department soon," he said.

The case is primarily about safety of kids in school buses but over time it
has become more broad-based looking at safety in buses.

The 2011 census figures show that transgenders constitute 2% of the total
population of Punjab. In 2010, the Punjab government created a separate
category in application forms under which third gender people can apply for
government vacancies.

 The proposal, said Asija, is in line with the recent Supreme Court ruling
which said, "The spirit of the Constitution is to provide equal opportunity
to every citizen to grow and attain their potential, irrespective of caste,
religion or gender. It gave directions to provide transgender people with
quotas in jobs and education in line with other minorities, as well as key
amenities."

He added that since ancient times, women have felt secure in the company of
transgender people. Besides, they are physically strong to protect them in
case of any eventuality in public transport. An IIT-Delhi alumnus, Asija is
a road safety expert.

Punjab has had some infamous cases related to women in buses including the
death of a teenaged girl in May in Moga after she was allegedly thrown out
of a moving bus by the conductor along with her mother.
Punjab government officials told TOI the suggestion was yet to come up as a
formal proposal.