LAHORE: When the first batch of women traffic wardens sailed out on their bikes in the city, they had no idea what challenges they would have to face. But they found out in just the first few days.

“It was unbelievable,” says Salma, who has been part of the patrolling force since the beginning. “Men used to stop, stare and laugh at us. They took photographs, recorded videos, all the while making fun of us. Some of them whizzed past passing comments.”

Yet wardens Salma, Ana, Asma, Tahira and Sofia are all going against the grain and braving it out in one of the biggest male-dominated spaces: the roads. Clad smartly in their blue uniforms, dupattas and scarves pinned neatly, these cops are ready to take on anyone who challenges their authority.

“By nabbing drivers, most of whom are men, we are turning the tables on their social power,” Salma goes on.

Sexual harassment, in particular, made things difficult for them from the very beginning. With harassment cases on the roads rising, followed by complaints by women wardens, the higher authorities decided to pull them out from the roads and limit them to the headquarters in various departments, such as ticketing.

“The level of harassment was such that very few women were willing to get back out on the roads,” says Salma. “We were then given incentives like a four-hour duty time, special allowance every month, and a fixed route only in Gulberg for some time to encourage us to work.”

A 90-day training period helps them learn how to tackle people on roads, and drive their bikes.

Gender discrimination, sexual harassment and gender equity are just some of the areas which are under discussion before this year’s International Women’s Day on March 8. This year, the theme is #PressforProgress – a call to society to think, act and be more gender inclusive.

Over a decade after being deployed on the roads of Lahore, the general progress for women is slow. Perhaps the biggest change is increased acceptance of their presence.

“It takes time for a backward society like ours to be positive about what they see, especially if it’s about women’s liberation,” says Ana Aziz, 29.

For Ana, women in the police was nothing out of the ordinary. Her own mother has served the Punjab police for decades and still works in the investigation department. “I have always been inspired by the fact that she was the women’s police station’s station house officer at a time when being in the police for women was unlikely. I knew then that I could also be whatever I wanted to.” But she had an idea of what women have to go through in such areas of work.

Due to certain extreme cases of harassment such as groping – or pulling off a warden’s dupatta – higher authorities have let them be on the roads, but tried to limit their patrolling to ‘safer’ spots. At present, they are deployed in Gulberg, between Liberty Market and Fawara Chowk.

“It feels like you’ve accomplished something when at one point people used to stop and stare at us as if we were a novelty, but now they take us seriously,” laughs Ana.

Difficult or irate drivers haven’t affected their sense of humour though. “There have been times when male drivers said to us: ‘Aren’t you ashamed of doing all this as a woman?’ to which I always say: ‘Humain bhai hi samajh lain aap (consider us your brothers),” says Asma. “At the end of the day, we feel like half men any way,” she adds.

And years of work have made them gutsier too. “I once stopped a car belonging to an MPA for taking a wrong turn, and the driver, who was the MPA’s son, threatened to have me abducted,” says Salma. “I told him who he was messing with... I named a few connections, which shut him up. Sometimes you have to talk tough.”

The toughest part is issuing someone a ticket, says Tahira. “People come up with sob stories and a lot of times I know it is a mistake, so I let them off, but I always educate them on the right thing to do. But if I see the violator is someone educated, who purposely flouts laws then I’m harsh with them.”

Surprisingly, it is women drivers, the wardens claim, who refuse to display their licences, or violate traffic signals. “Our problem in general is that women are not educated enough about driving or any other job,” says Salma, who herself has a thirst for knowledge.

At 32, Salma is an MPhil graduate with a doctorate degree in political science. She says most of the women – like men – get their driving licences through connections or bribery and end up driving poorly.

“Women must realise that education and training is important because only then they can actualise themselves, and form their own identity. When you work, you cease to become man or woman; you’re a professional.”

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2018