Making Indian Cities Gender Sensitive: Empowering Women in Urban Public Space for Ascending India

The city making and the safety of women have remained a major concern for urban policy makers. With large number of women migrating from rural to urban, engaging in both formal and informal sectors o work, changes in socio-economic and psycho-cultural environment of Indians in era of modernisation and globalisation have influenced the role of women in public space allowing them to attain a new and diverse role. However the core issue, yet unanswered, is women‟s empowerment in the city making and their right to the city. The article looks into the speedy growth of cities as symbolic of rising India and how they are able to accommodate the needs of women. The gender as concept today has been broadened to include not just men and women but also transgender but my focus in the article will be on the women in particular as a social construct. It will examine the government policies that emphasise on the gender inclusion in decision making, municipalities and urban development to make the cities gender sensitive. The institutionalisation of local governance, participation of women in management of the urban public spaces is the unexplored domain which otherwise can ensure gender mainstreaming. The article looks at the ways in which democratic governance can be revitalised at city level and will provide recommendations for a balanced urban development that will stop violence against women and secure dignity. As India ascends to become global power, it is essential to emphasise on the role played by the women, who can and have contributed to the growth of nations, its cities and societies. Women‟s empowerment is vital for a country to progress and cities become a site of empowerment and disempowerment which needs to be studied.