Paper short abstract:

This paper directs its attention toward the intersection of infrastructure and embodied experiences of women in the public sphere by exploring how the Metro Bus system allows them, albeit limited, access to inhabit the outside world in the form of commuting.

Paper long abstract:

Despite patriarchy's long-held tradition of confining women in the private sphere, women have, albeit unwelcomingly, begun to frequent the public space. How does the city's focus on infrastructural developments in relation to commuting impact this?

The research is centered towards the Metro Bus System that recently became operational in the city of Lahore. The purpose of this research is to find out in what capacity is the Metro Bus system accessible to women, and how the lives of women that use public transport are affected by the nature and quality of this bus. This paper explores the impact that infrastructural development and the environment of the said public transport medium is having on the traveling and commuting conditions for women. The paper also embodies gendered experiences of women inhabiting the public space. By looking at these experiences through the lens of a changing paradigm of a third world country, the paper explores how infrastructural development allows women to navigate through societal norms and expectations about their bodies.

Some of the sub-questions that this paper attempts to answer through research are:

What effect does the access to public transport have on women's mobility?

How does the state infrastructure determine access to the buses?

How does gender segregation affect the decision of women who use the Metro?

Both primary, and secondary research was carried out including interviews, focus groups, and extensive participant observation in the field which included the Metro Buses, as well as the bus stations.