Needed: A change in social attitude for the betterment of women

It was reported that there is a move to recruit 200 females to be employed as bus conductors during day time. According to the same news report initially it will be a pilot project and then it will be implemented on a large scale after assessing the progress.

This is not the first time female bus conductors are going to be introduced to Sri Lanka. On earlier occasions their service ended in utter failure. This is an important issue that should be discussed in length. On one hand we have to give women equal employment opportunities and on the other hand we have to ensure their safety and dignity.

Women bus conductors are not a special feature in many foreign countries where men are well disciplined with the modern facilities available in the transport services. In such countries men are well disciplined and even undisciplined men abide by the strict laws existing in such countries.

Therefore women bus conductors and drivers carry out their duties smoothly without any problem. In foreign countries female drivers run public transport with no bus conductors at all. But in Sri Lanka it is entirely a different situation. Here we have many aspects to look into.

When female bus conductors were introduced to then CTB (Ceylon Transport Board) it ended in a failure and they vanished from the scene within a very short time. Various reasons were behind it but we have to see to the real causes that led to the result. Usually we focus on the problem but not the cause behind it.

For Sri Lankan male community, it is still very hard to accept the fact that females are also capable of doing almost everything done by them and to let them have equal rights and respect. Therefore whenever they see a chance they humiliate females who become a challenge to them.

Female bus conductors are one fine example. The Sri Lankan male community see them as a challenge for them and do not cooperate with them at all. They tend to, tease and harass them and do everything possible to make them feel uncomfortable and leave their jobs.

When considering the present day society it will be more difficult to deal with the system than in the past and many Sri Lankan males will travel free of charge without taking tickets from female bus conductors, unless it is made a punishable offence.

The social attitude towards gender is very important when it comes to issues like this. Without changing the existing Sri Lankan social attitude towards gender and women we cannot expect any success and it is pointless to blame the problems created within the existing system.

But when considering the situation in foreign countries we can see very clearly that what matters is the social attitude towards an issue. In many foreign countries there are no bus conductors at all and female bus drivers carry out their duties in a very successful way and they work very enthusiastically.

They wear an uniform and even drive alone in the dark without any problem. Almost all men respect them and obey them and thereby obey the law. The punishments for law breakers are also tough. Modern technology also plays a major role here.

But what will happen if this system is introduced in Sri Lanka? There will be no income from the transport system at all.

Women bus drivers and conductors will be subjected to all types of teasing, harassment and abuse. All media will have very popular headlines such as `Female bus driver robbed, raped and killed’.

In many foreign countries there are bus cards that passengers can punch when they get onto a bus. But how many men will punch their cards if it is introduced here? One reason is lack of honesty.

The Sri Lankan male community is not ready to accept the fact that females have equal rights, respect and honour. The other problem is the existing punishments for crimes are not strict enough. People are always looking for loopholes to cheat.

The basic theory is we cannot change long-standing social attitudes overnight. It takes time and hard work.

What we can do is introduce tough laws to discipline the society and introduce modern technology everywhere possible which will help minimise corruption and malpractice. The attitudinal change will eventually come along creating a better society with less crime and social problems.