Most days, I leave my office at around 5pm, after which it takes roughly half an hour at the bus stop for my bus to arrive.
asserted
bus → leave → stop
The bus ride itself takes another hour to ninety minutes.
asserted
ride → take → minutes
The first challenge is to cross the poorly-lit, forever-under-construction University Road, with cars and motorcycles — often without headlights — racing through the operational service lanes.
asserted
cars → cross → lanes
At the end of a long and arduous day, walking home from the bus stop, I must not only be wary of speeding vehicles, but also of criminals, opportunistic harassers and serial stalkers.
asserted
I → walk → criminals
Exacerbating this daily grind are hazards such as flooded roads — after rainfall or otherwise — where speeding vehicles may splash pedestrians, leaving them wet, exposed and helpless.
uncertain
vehicles → exacerbate → them
What may seem like a minor inconvenience to a driver can become a deeply uncomfortable and humiliating moment for a pedestrian.
uncertain
seem → seem → pedestrian
These experiences led me to ask other women about their journeys.
asserted
experiences → lead → journeys
Those who took part in this informal survey use different modes of public transportation, including mini-buses, qingchis, electric buses, and other informal transport services.
asserted
who → take → buses
Their backgrounds and experiences vary, depending on factors such as their occupation, age, income, the areas they travel to and the time of day.
asserted
they → vary → day
They include people working in offices, banks, schools, hospitals, shops and factories, while others are domestic workers employed in private homes.
asserted
others → include → homes
Their stories reveal how concerns about safety persist throughout the journey — and do not end when women get off public transport.
asserted
women → reveal → transport
Long waits, overcrowded buses and unsafe infrastructure are only part of the daily commute for Karachi’s working women.
asserted
waits → work → women
Often, the most difficult stretch for them begins after they get off public transport
WALKING BACK HOME
One recurring concern expressed by women was their safety after getting off public transport and walking from the last stop to their homes.
asserted
concern → begin → homes
For many women, the walk takes between five and 10 minutes.
asserted
walk → take → minutes
Although public transport takes them to the last stop, the final walk home often feels unsafe, particularly during the evening or at night.
asserted
walk → take → night
Two women told me they had been hit by a motorbike without headlights.
asserted
they → tell → headlights
Another, a physiotherapist, told me she had been robbed of her cellphone while walking from the stop to her home in the Gulshan-i-Iqbal area.
asserted
she → tell → area
Equally challenging is the prospect of crossing a pedestrian bridge.
asserted
prospect → cross → bridge
These bridges are often poorly maintained and not well-lit, making them unsafe, especially after sunset.
asserted
them → maintain → sunset
Some women said they had encountered people who use drugs on or around such bridges, making them feel unsafe.
asserted
them → say → bridges
At least one passenger, an employee at a private hospital, told me that she faced harassment while crossing a pedestrian bridge.
asserted
she → tell → bridge
In addition, large advertising billboards frequently obstruct visibility, creating hidden spaces where pedestrians cannot easily see who is nearby.
asserted
who → obstruct → spaces
As a result, many women avoid pedestrian bridges altogether and choose to cross busy roads, despite the risk of being hit by traffic.
asserted
women → avoid → traffic
Even walking short distances in extreme heat can be physically exhausting, while heavy rainfall often floods the streets and conceals open manholes and damaged roads.
asserted
rainfall → walk → manholes
As a result, women fear falling into uncovered manholes or being injured while walking through waterlogged streets.
asserted
women → fear → streets
A woman shared that, while walking to the bus stop to pick up her daughter, she fell into an uncovered manhole, suffering serious injuries.
asserted
she → share → injuries
She says the construction site had no warning signs, safety barriers or adequate lighting to alert pedestrians to the danger.
asserted
site → say → danger
A group of women working at a garment packaging factory explained that they are fortunate to live in the same neighbourhood and work at the same factory, allowing them to travel together each day.
asserted
them → work → factory
They use mini-buses for their daily commute, and their homes are about a 20-minute walk from the last stop.
asserted
homes → use → stop
Instead of walking, the women collectively hire a rickshaw to cover the final part of their journey.
asserted
women → walk → journey
Another group, also working at a factory, explained that they rarely travel alone after work.
asserted
they → work → work
Factory transport drops them on main roads and they travel the last leg of their journey by themselves.
asserted
they → drop → themselves
They leave the factory in groups and often get lifts from Mazda drivers and loaders who live in the same neighbourhood or along the same route.
asserted
who → leave → route
Such informal support networks help reduce transport costs while also providing a greater sense of security during the last stage of their commute.
asserted
networks → help → commute
One university student told me that she uses a bike-hailing service to get home after getting off the bus because it is more affordable than a rickshaw.
asserted
it → tell → rickshaw
She explained that this option allows her to reach home while keeping her transportation costs low.
asserted
her → explain → costs
But not everyone can afford this.
asserted
everyone → afford → this
Women from low-income households say that financial constraints — the additional fare of a rickshaw, for instance — limit their options in the final stage of their daily commute.
asserted
constraints → say → commute
They get off at the main road and walk the remaining distance to their homes.
asserted
They → get → homes
Their experiences demonstrate how economic inequality directly influences personal safety and mobility.
asserted
inequality → demonstrate → safety
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
