Crosswalk Sign Switch From Men to Women: An Innovative Way to Spread Equality

Cities around the world have now switched their crosswalk figure from men to women to spread gender equality!

Crosswalk equality is now a way of life. After taking inspiration from various other global cities, Mumbai’s Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation plans to introduce female symbols on pedestrian signs to promote gender equality. This figure was implemented in one of the busiest streets of Mumbai, Dadar. The Authorities are planning on swapping over 100 pedestrian crossings from the red and green male figures to female figures. This comes as a small part out of a larger and broader plan to make the streets more pedestrian-friendly.

New Zealand was the first country to install the silhouette of Kate Sheppard, in honour of her protest for her right to vote at eight pedestrians crossing in 2014. Not only did it immortalized the mayoral candidate but it also highlighted transgender women. The city of Melbourne, Australia changed its signage in the year 2017, which inspired many cities across the world. It was an initiative taken toward gender equality and to reduce unconscious bias. This is because many executives felt that only having a male representation on a pedestrian crossing discriminated against women.

In German, there is a popular trend for the ‘traffic man’ and ‘traffic womxn’ called Ampelmann and Ampelfrau. Following that trend, several cities in the Netherlands featured a pony-tailed figure popularly called ‘Sofie” on their traffic signals. The City of London and Vienna now feature same-sex couples on their pedestrian lights to promote equality.

This step was taken by various cities in the world to signal at the new progressive mindsets of leaders and people in power. For centuries womxn have been oppressed with their voices being suppressed. This gave birth to the feminist movements. After years of struggle, womxn started witnessing glimpses of equality. But, men still held a monopoly, so the fight against patriarchy continued.

These little steps, such as changing the stencil on a crosswalk go a long way. It’s a much-needed form of recognition that all women deserve. It brings a smile on the face of womxn, to say the least. In Indian, women do not walk the streets freely, and now with their new crosswalk companion, they might feel safer to step out. These new gender-sensitive signs will help spread a strong message across the country. It will help promote the importance of womxn in this country. Mumbai is the first city in India to do so. This is to say that the rest of the Indian cities take notice and follow suit. It’s now to change with the times.

We should be proud of these little victories we witness. It shows that the battle is yet worth fighting. Although it might take some more time to get full-fledged gender equality in all the aspects of life, this is a start. Now, children will take notice, and a conversation will start around why the signs now have womxn, which can help spread awareness about gender equality. It’s an initiative taken to recognize the struggle womxn have to go through. Slowly these small victories will add up and a large sum. But no matter what it is, we are proud of it.

Equality should be present in all parts of life. No matter where we go, we must remember things are not always in binaries. We have a long way to go, to get recognition for all the members of the LGBTQIA+ community, along with non-heterosexual couples. We need to continue fighting this uphill battle and one day soon, we will emerge victoriously!

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