My First Time…Using Public Transport

Today I wanted to talk about my most recent journey on Karachi’s public transportation. Gari ke masle the so I thought why not try public transport? Many of my friends use it, plus I had no other option really. All my friends had warned me to make sure I’m fully covered up, especially if I’m alone – ab bumble se koi milla hi nahin hai toh akeyle hi jaana parha. 

The walk up to the “bus stop” was a mission; it wasn’t the walk itself, but the stares I got on my way which made me want to turn right back around. When I say “bus stop” I also mean just stand anywhere and wait for the bus to find you. On top of that I made sure to wear shalwar kameez and a big dupatta, as opposed to my usual casual jeans and a T-shirt, to really avoid any creeps. But still, the staring just didn’t stop. The bus in itself was not the most pleasant place, the fee was relatively low, but the ladies compartment was much smaller than the mens. Adding to my dismay, it was quite crowded and not exactly the setting you want to be in during a pandemic, but fortunately I kept my on-the-go sanitiser ready and made sure to double mask! Remember, corona hasn’t gone anywhere yet! 

Anyway, naturally it wasn’t the most luxurious form of travel, but it did the job. Unfortunately, public transport is not the most inviting place for a woman. As my friends warned me about my attire, it was my gender that was more of the issue in this case. If you’re a woman in this city, you already know what I mean. I’ve heard horror stories about my friends being groped or inappropriately touched as they find a seat in the bus, yet this has just become the norm of our natural surroundings. Why must we always need a male counterpart to accompany us in public? Why are we not ‘safe’ enough for ourselves? This single experience was enough for me to hope I would never have to take the bus again in the future. But for many of us, public transport is a daily necessity, and who knows, I may need to take it again at some point. I just hope we can work on creating a better public transport system, where the safety and comfort of all passengers is prioritised.