SKARDU: Grueling experience of traveling in a public bus for many women in Gilgit-Baltistan has ended as the ‘All-women Pink Bus Service’ now provides free-of-cost journeys to females, especially students and working women.
Humna Shafiq, who was waiting for her bus at a stop in Skardu, told WeNews, “Earlier, traveling to my office, only 20 minutes from home, was a terrible nightmare. The financial issues compelled me to continue my job; otherwise, I planned to quit daily due to the terrible public transport travel experience.”
She said that she was happy after the inauguration of the Pink Bus service in her area, which has made her life stress-free and, as this service is free of cost, which helped her save money for her monthly household expenditure.
Humna’s friend, standing by her side with a white shawl, wrapped her tightly and said, “After this bus service, which is exclusively for women, my father has allowed me to work. Earlier, my father didn’t allow me to work due to traveling by public transport. Now all staff, including drivers and conductor, are women; therefore, we don’t fear being harassed during traveling.”
It is worth mentioning here that according to a United Nations report on girls ‘ education, the likelihood of females not attending school increases when it is far from their homes, such as in rural and isolated locations. One of the main barriers preventing women from participating in various facets of public life, including economic, social, and educational endeavors, is distance, combined with the lack of accessible, safe, and comfortable transportation.
This issue has made economic development in a third-world nation like Pakistan stagnate because a sizable segment of Pakistan’s population, women, cannot contribute to the country’s development. The situation was no different in Gilgit Baltistan.
A senior woman Kinza Bibi, who was driving a bus, told WeNews that due to this area’s challenging and dispersed terrain, many women never even considered participating in the public sphere or contributing to improving the site. These women also include a lot of bright minds who, despite being aware of the enormous impact their involvement can have, were unable to do so because there were no reliable, affordable, safe, and secure transportation options.
She said that she also faced numerous problems from the family in joining as a driver; however, eventually, they agreed as this service would exclusively cater the female passengers.
During various interviews with passengers, from university-going girls to working women, all have sung high praise for this initiative since it has provided them with the safest and most convenient form of transportation that one could ask for.
This Pink Bus Service is operational in District Gilgit, Skardu, Hunza, Nagar, Ghizar, and Diamer daily from 6-9 am to 3-6 pm. This initiative has been widely successful, increasing its reach to various Districts within two months.
When contacted, Chief Secretary Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani told WeNews, “This bus service aims to provide women with safe and free travel during peak hours, i.e., in the morning and evening when they return home. This service can be a game changer for the region’s economy since by operating such buses in various Districts of GB, more and more women would enter the work domain, earn livelihoods, and contribute towards making Gilgit-Baltistan an economically and socially prosperous region.”
