Women from low socio-economic backgrounds in India have limited job prospects. These women have taken up traditional jobs as domestic workers and caregivers. Occupational segregation based on Gender has been attached to job roles, which has been the principal reason for women never fulfilling their dreams. Recently, metropolitan cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Kolkata are among the few that have seen women coming forward to work as professional drivers. With the increasing involvement of women as drivers, the incidents of crime against women have risen in a few states in India. Delhi has been recognised as one of the most unsafe cities in India for women consecutively for many years. Despite steps being taken by the government and private stakeholders to ensure the security and empowerment of women on roads, safety remains a great concern for female drivers. Interviews and experiences shared by women drivers have given this problem a holistic lens to explore the need of humanity-centred design intervention to create a solution which serves the complex and deep-rooted societal issue of the safety of women on Indian roads. The project examines the various safety measures in place and analyses their effectiveness. Here, a safety device has been proposed to ensure the safety of women on Indian roads. The project is SNU OUR (Opportunity for Undergraduate Research) funded.

Student: Nitya Mathur (Design Minor 2019-2023) 

Faculty: Subhajit Chandra