Authors: Aruna Iyappan, Gnanasree Nagavelly, Rachel Michael, Sarmin Rahman, Pratishtha Sharma, Muskan Rastogi

ABSTRACT

India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision places strong emphasis on women’s empowerment and self-reliance as key pillars of national development. However, it gives limited attention to the everyday mobility conditions that enable women to participate in education, employment, and public life. According to Census 2011, nearly 84 percent of women’s workrelated travel in India depends on public transport such as buses. Despite this high dependence, public transport systems are not traditionally designed to accommodate women’s distinct mobility patterns and safety needs. These conditions raise critical questions about how women’s mobility shapes their ability to become economically and socially self-sustaining. This study examines women’s everyday mobility experiences across six Indian states using a qualitative research design. In-depth interviews were conducted with 34 women from diverse socio-economic and occupational backgrounds, including students, salaried employees, and informal and daily wage workers. The study explores perceptions of safety, use of public transport, and daily travel decisions. The findings show that women’s mobility is shaped by constant negotiation rather than free choice. Fear functions as a persistent condition that influences travel timing, route selection, and mode of transport, even when no direct incident has occurred. These constraints are particularly severe for women in informal employment who have limited flexibility and fewer alternatives. Public transport and public spaces often operate as gendered environments where responsibility for safety is placed on individual women rather than institutions. The study suggests that women’s safe mobility must be recognised as a foundational requirement for self-sustaining and inclusive development within the Viksit Bharat 2047 framework.