Moalims

Punjab government’s pink scooties scheme

No nation can rise to the height of glory unless its women are side by side with men, to speed up the wheel of progress both men and women must be provided equal opportunities but it is the dilemma of our country that girls and boys don’t even get equal education. Girls have to face many difficulties to pursue this basic right. One of the many reasons is the lack of personal transportation to access educational institutions.

Many girls had to give away their dream of getting education due to unavailability of transport in backward areas. Girls were often seen waiting for hours to get a bus or van to reach their school, college and universities. Even if they did get a bus there was no respectable way to travel because of low capacity of the buses and vans. It was difficult for female students to travel early in the morning and late at night equally. Due to these barriers they had to give away many chances of their better living.

Every government talked about the importance of female education but none of them has given attention to it. The projects like “Parho Punjab, Barho Punjab” actually contributed in encouraging education for all. It was the need of the hour to introduce an effective mechanism for the promotion of women education which the Punjab government has met. Now the government has taken a new initiative “Women on Wheels” related to the welfare of working women and female students by announcing scooty motorcycles for girls. For the first time in the history of Pakistan girls will be allocated scooties enabling an independent, luxurious and efficient ride.

It is a good news for girls that the government of Punjab has taken another step to facilitate the girls education. These scooties will be provided on installments to the girls and women on merit. It will be the first project of its kind for attaining highest number of female education. Now you won’t have to miss your school, girls who had their college far from home won’t have to give away their education, every able and passionate girl can go to university, teachers and other working women can reach their workplaces in short span of time. All thanks to Punjab government’s scooty scheme Women on Wheels.

The safety and security of girls should be the first priority. That’s why girls will be trained by the Punjab traffic police first and then they will be given the scooties. After getting proper training and instructions the girls would be able to have safe ride. Punjab police will also provide security for the girls. No compromise or negligence would be tolerated in case of security and respect of females at any cost. Moreover, the girls will drive this pink scooty without driving license because it will be of 50cc.These scooties are designed for safe, easy and comfortable travelling purpose so that not a single girl gets even a scar.

The government claims to have paid special attention to the comfort and reliability of the scooty scheme. He advised the designers and manufacturers to keep in mind the requirements and essentials to ease a female rider. It will provide a dignified and independent ride for females. The pink scooties will be reliable and easy to drive for girls as the experts have taken serious considerations to make the scooties convenient for females. These scooties are powered by rechargeable batteries hence they will liberate the consumers from the tension of petrol expenses, which is very beneficial for the girls in this expensive era.

It will be time saving because scooties are easy to move in traffic due to small diameter so the ladies will reach their destination in small period of time. Females would no longer keep waiting for buses and vans instead they will use their own scooties freely to reach their schools and offices. Personal scooty has another advantage over local transport that you don’t have to stop on every station to embark and disembark passengers you only have one station called your destination.

The Chinese company will manufacture these 50cc scooties having the cost of PKR 80,000 per scooty. There will be a contract between the manufacturing departments of Pakistan and China. This scheme will be launched firstly in Lahore city and then gradually it will penetrate in the other cities of Punjab providing modern and graceful transport to girls.

The scooty scheme might be new to Pakistan but other countries have already adopted this practice. Few years back such scooties were introduced in India which changed the destiny of many women over there. A clear progress in education and public sector was seen due to this innovation and now Pakistan is also expected to experience the same achievement.

The idea of females riding scooties is not completely an alien to Pakistan because in Faisalabad and other cities the female traffic police also use scooties in a graceful manner for serving their duty. I am sure that it will be very helpful in other walks of life as well.

It is going to be a great step towards women empowerment. By getting personal scooty females will be able to get greater education, information, employment and business opportunities. They will be able to participate in every field of life leading to better decision making. It will help them get representation and status in society equal to men. It will lead to their economic growth and empowerment. Only such empowerment can pave the way for faster economic and social development.

It is said that “You educate a man, you educate a man. You educate a woman, you educate a generation.” In the same way if you are creating opportunities for the education of a woman you are indirectly helping a complete generation to have a good living.

Apart from the apparent advantage of scooty scheme as a comfortable ride, it will also have other positive effects. The programme will develop more confidence among females; they will be encouraged to do something for their good living. It will give them a sense of independence and self reliance. Providing equal opportunities for both women and men will help ensure equality and healthy competition among masses.

Our society cannot progress by restricting more than half of its population in the abyss of ignorance and a maze of undue limits. Pakistan has the third highest number of out-of-school female students in the world, 55 percent of out-of-school children in Pakistan are girls, while current female net enrolment rate at primary level is 64 percent compared with 72 percent for male counterparts. This is not to say that moving up the statistics ladder will make Pakistan a women-friendly place. The data only strengthen our resolve as activists and show us when and how urgently to begin. By introducing such scheme the girls will be motivated and encouraged to get education. Women education serves as the most powerful tool that can greatly help Pakistan to achieve its national goals while utilising women’s power, skills, knowledge and competencies.

I believe that if the government continues to devote more funds and resources for education activities we will achieve our goal of “Education for all”. These voucher schemes, PEEF scholarships and laptop program have always encouraged the poor families to let both their sons and daughters cherish education.

The government is taking deliberate and a conscious step through this scooty scheme for ensuring equal participation of women in mainstream development. After the success of laptop scheme and solar lamp scheme, it seems to be a good initiative for improving the educational activities of the students. Hopefully, this scheme will encourage more girls to step out of their homes with comfort and build a good future for themselves and their families. If everything goes well, we will witness pink scooties ruling the roads.

Hina Riaz

The writer is a freelance columnist.