Not 'bad omen': OSCW on women as first bus passengers

In a bid to break a discriminatory superstition, the Odisha State Commission for Women (OSCW) has asked the transport department to pass orders that women should be allowed to board buses even when they were the first passengers.

The OSCW's order came after it disposed of a petition which alleged that bus staffers in Odisha prevent women passengers from boarding the vehicle first, considering it to be a bad omen.

The commission observed that the irrational and discriminatory practise stemmed from the superstition that if a woman becomes the first passenger, the bus may meet with an accident or do bad business for the day.

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Social worker Ghasiram Panda from Sonepur filed a petition with the women's commission, citing an instance of a woman passenger being allegedly prevented from boarding a bus as the first passenger at Baramunda bus stand in Bhubaneswar.

The commission, in a letter to Transport Commissioner cum Chairman Amitabh Thakur on July 26, said, "These type of incidents have come to our knowledge in the past also. So, in order to avoid future inconveniences to women passengers and to protect their safety and dignity, I would like to request you to ensure that the buses (both government and private) allow women as the first passenger. An early action with intimation to OSCW is solicited."

The commission also suggested that the transport department reserve 50 per cent of the seats for women passengers.

"The transport department will ask bus owners to sensitise their staff. It is wrong to discriminate against women on the bus. They should get first preference," the official said

Debendra Sahu, secretary of the Odisha Private Bus Owners Association, said, "We consider women as a form of Goddess Laxmi and Kali. Women represent Mother God. Therefore, there should be no discrimination in this regard."