‘Consider safety of women drivers’

DIKTAT ON TINTED GLASS
‘Consider safety of women drivers’
The Times of India

Bangalore: Even as the traffic police go all out to implement the ban on tinted glass windows in cars, many women are apprehensive and believe it will lead to a compromise on their security. It is increasingly common for women to drive back home alone at odd hours after a long day at work and find security in the privacy that tinted glass offers. “Women driving late in secluded areas don’t want it to be known that they are alone,’’ says danseuse Vani Ganapathy.

Many women in the IT sector who commute alone late after work feel the move creates more problems than it solves. “I drive back late on some lonely roads. I could be the target of eve-teasers as it will be obvious I am alone. The safety of women should be kept in mind while making such rules,’’ says Vijayalakshmi Sharma, Novell Software.

Sumi Lazar, who represents Pranic Healing Foundation, an NGO, says: “I take the same route home daily late in the evening and feel comfortable with tinted glasses. Women driving alone late would attract unwanted attention. I don’t want anybody following me.”

“This ban could be restricted to taxis. You don’t want to be travelling with someone you don’t know in a car with tinted glasses. Private cars can be allowed to have tinted glasses. After all, this city is not as safe for women as it used to be,’’ says Anamika Nandy, Convergys Learning Solutions.

The city has a considerable number of women working as professionals: doctors, architects and business - women , apart from executives in jobs that entail late hours, drive back alone. The common apprehension is that they are prone to unwanted attention at traffic lights where they need to stop.
More thought and research needs to go into whether the city needs to ban tinted glasses on all vehicles. Also, the safety of women drivers needs to be addressed first before such a move, say worried women motorists who will need to face the dark nights without the shield of privacy.