Women report feeling unsafe in Hyderabad metro at night, says study

Hyderabad: A recent study has found that many women commuters feel unsafe while using the Hyderabad metro at night, citing reduced staff presence and deserted stations as key concerns.

The research, carried out by Ethames Business School, was led by Dr Sahera Fathima, Assistant Professor in the Department of Business Management, along with students Amena Begum, Khatija Tul Kubra, Taruni Reddy Gaddamedi and Sukhjoth Singh Chawal. A total of 410 women metro users were interviewed for the study.

The white paper titled “Women’s Safety in Hyderabad Metro Transit”, released on Tuesday, highlighted several issues affecting women commuters. These included poor lighting, inadequate facilities at street level, lack of accessible restrooms and insufficient CCTV coverage.

The study noted that 11 percent of women surveyed reported facing harassment while travelling on the metro. Complaints also included men entering women-only coaches.

While 70 percent of women said they felt safe during daytime travel, the figure dropped sharply at night.

The report recommended measures to improve women’s safety, such as deploying more female staff, enhancing lighting at stations and expanding CCTV surveillance.