Haryana Bus Drivers And Conductors Get Trained In Gender Sensitisation

Around 10,000 bus drivers and conductors of Haryana Roadways will soon learn how to behave with women and other passengers. The Haryana transport department has initiated a training programme for them.

They will be taught how to behave professionally and how to cope with stress during their duty. The purpose is to assist drivers and conductors in inculcating positive and professional behaviour as part of their work ethic.

Key Takeaways:

• Haryana Transport Department will soon be training bus drivers and conductors of Haryana Roadways in gender sensitisation and stress management.
• The training programme is called Safe Gaadi. The participants will learn soft skills too.
• Besides training, information, education and communication material, comprising stickers, certificates, and hand-outs, will be supplied to drivers and conductors.

The training program is called Safe Gaadi. It was conceptualised last year. The implementation, however, began from the last week of June this year and will continue till November. The Haryana transport department will train drivers in all the districts of the state. In fact, over a dozen districts have already been covered.

Also: Why Gender sensitization is required to normalize menstruation?

The training program is called Safe Gaadi. It was conceptualised last year. The implementation, however, began from the last week of June this year and will continue till November.

“The training program is quite crucial for conductors and drivers of Haryana Roadways, especially due to the conditions they face during duty hours. Therefore, it is necessary for them to know how to be soft-spoken and how to behave with passengers. Moreover, training has other aspects too — like how to improve fuel efficiency,” Varinder Dahiya, Haryana transport department director, told TOI.

Training process

The training takes place in the following manner. A team of trainers go to each district according to a pre-decided schedule and train all participants from that particular district. The duration of each training session is two hours. Three batches get training daily. Besides training, information, education and communication material, comprising stickers, certificates, and hand-outs, are also supplied to drivers and conductors.

The trainers address the issue of stress management also since stress is a major factor. 

Giving details about the training, Harleen of Manas Foundation told TOI that the training commences with a talk on gender sensitisation. They focus on things that the drivers and conductors can do to inculcate certain behaviours in their professional life to become more sensitive. He also mentioned that they address the issue of stress management also since stress is a major factor.

Schools have also felt the need to include gender sensitisation. For instance, the Brihanmumbai Municipality Corporation (BMC) schools recently included a special kind of education in their school to tackle gender-based stereotypes settling in children from a young age. The programme launched by British Council plans to work on young children's mindsets and eliminate gender through a combination of dance and sports.

Apart from dance, cricket is the chosen sport for this effort to spread awareness around gender inclusiveness and sensitivity.

Also: Why We Need Gender Sensitization On University Campuses