Women and Children Affairs Adviser Rasheda K Chowdhury speaks at a workshop at BIDS auditorium in the city yesterday. On her right is World Bank Country Director Xian Zhu and on her left are BIDS Director General Quazi Shahabuddin and Communications Secretary Dr Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman. Photo: STAR

Mindset change is imperative for making journey in the buses more woman-friendly, a study report of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) revealed yesterday.

Women will be empowered if they can move freely without obstacle. They cannot do so due to lack of security, revealed the study tiled 'Gender analysis for improving mobility in Dhaka city' at the BIDS auditorium in the city.

The study suggested for a strong transport commission like Anti-Corruption Commission to revamp transport sector and musclemen need to be weeded out of transport sector so that women can enter.

Around 15 percent of the 1100 respondents in the survey identified cultural constraint as the main reason of mobility difference between men and women.

The study revealed that bus conductors do not want to take women on board complaining that women and children take more space than men.

The study was conducted at schools, colleges, university, recreation facility centres, markets, hospitals, garment factories, street corners and BDR-run shops in Mirpur area in May and June.

The key objectives of the study were to help the city's transport authorities to design and implement more effective interventions in order to improve access and mobility for both males and females.

The study identified distinct travel patterns of male and women and identifies opportunities and mechanism for employment/sustainable income generation for women through project implementation activities.

The study found that women go out of the house earlier than men and they go out in larger number than men.

Good pedestrian facilities help walking for women. Now they go even short distances via rickshaw due to lack of good sidewalks, said the study.

BIDS Consultant Khurshed Alam said, “Women are more exposed to air pollution as they travel in slow moving modes. Although men commute longer hours than women but women suffer from illness more than men.”

The study showed that even though the rates of accidents are lower for women, but their severity is higher.

Research findings suggested that women are responsible for most of the household transports but have limited access to avail them.

Most of the respondents identified physical inability of women like women cannot get on and get down from a running bus, they cannot walk fast, cannot hold knob of the bus, etc as the main mobility differences between men and women.

Women and Children Affairs Adviser Rasheda K Chowdhury, World Bank Country Director Xian Zhu and Communications Secretary Dr Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman also took part in the programme.