Women's Equal Access to Public Transportation
Women and girls' access to safe public transportation contributes to a more equitable role in society, allowing them to carry out activities such as education and employment without fear of intimidation or harassment.
Facilitating women’s access to transportation was the main objective of the Policy on Equitable Access to Transportation, issued by the Ministry of Transportation, and signed on 21 August 2007. To be monitored by the Afghan Women's Network, the implemntation of this policy includes:
- Securing at least 35% of seats on public buses for women, children, the elderly and physically impaired;
- Providing free rides for children 12 years old and under;
- Reserving prime seats on public buses for pregnant women, the elderly and physically impaired;
- Arranging special buses to bring students home after classes;
- Raising policy awareness among drivers and conductors;
- Ensuring a strict allocation of bus entrance and exit doors for women; and
- Raising public awareness on these policies.
Recent Updates
4 May 2008 Forty buses have been contracted by the Ministry of Transportation and Areeba Afghanistan. A workshop on women’s access to transportation is being planned for the drivers and conductors of those buses and will be carried out during the following months.
4 May 2008 Key messages and signs have been developed and are ready to be painted on the buses.
Task Force Representatives
The provisions of this policy are currently being piloted in the provinces of Kabul and Herat, through the work of a multi-agency task-force assigned to its implementation. This task force is composed of representatives from...
UNIFEM