Girls have seen a lot of development in the past decade. You could not imagine a girl conductor a decade ago. More power to the ladies Women bus conducters, a tough new breed (kantipur online) BY ANJALI SUBEDI KATHMANDU, Aug 15 - Traveling in public buses in Kathmandu can be so horrifying an experience that many women folk - especially the younger ones - avoid it altogether. But then there are gutsy teenagers like nineteen-year-old Kalpana Sunuwar, who has taken up the job of conductor in a public bus. Having stormed into this traditional male bastion, Sunuwar has both faced and challenged the pervasive sexual harassment meted out to the 'fairer sex' in public transportation. "Some passengers are really disgusting; they desperately try to make physical contact" said Sunuwar. Such encounters immediately raises her temper and "I land a powerful punch on their faces," says she. Many lewd souls have received such punches. But some of them have also beaten her up. "In my last encounter at Ekantakuna area, a group of boys overpowered me and left me severely injured," she said. In the one month since she took up her new job, such encounters have become so frequent that she now tries to avoid them as much as she can. "I put a scarf around my head; use sunglasses to avoid eye contact, and wear rough clothes to distract lewd eyes," she said. Sunuwar is one of five lady conductors working in public buses run by Swoyambhu Yatayat Samitee in the valley. All of them have gone through similar experiences. Sonam Lama, 22, another lady conductor, went through a rough experience last week. A drunk got on to her bus, and refused to get off at his destination. "He was staring at me without even blinking his eyes. The bus driver and I kicked him out," she recalled. Lama said she prefers 'tom-boy' outfits "so that men think twice before making a pass at me". The lady conductors are, however, not discouraged by harassment. They hope that as more and more women join the profession, such harassment against them will die down, and also make riding city buses a lot safer for women. Earlier all these women used to drive three-wheelers in Kathmandu. "Women driving tempos (as the three-wheelers are popularly known) is not an uncommon scene anymore, but becoming a conductor is a new thing and exciting as well," said Bishnu Lama, 37, one of the five conductors and also a central member of Nepal Transportation Labor Organization (NTLO). Sonam and Bishnu dream of driving long-route buses some day. And that is what prompted them to a career change. "Which it comes to driving long route buses, there are absolutely no women and we hope to fill that vacuum someday," said Bishnu. Till that dream comes true, Sonam is committed to her present job and, actually, quite happy about it. "What I like most as a conductor is assisting the driver to navigate through busy traffic and whistling in a fashionable way," she laughs. "Giving witty responses to verbal sexual overtures is fun too," she adds. But she is equally competitive when it comes to drawing more passengers in her bus. "I love to compete with male conductors of other buses." According to Bidur Karki, General Secr-etary of Nepal Transport Labor Organization there are five more lady conductors in Nepalgunj. Earlier Rani Yatayat Sewa, which had long-route bus service from Dharan to Kathmandu, had female conductors and drivers. But the company collapsed. Only time will tell how sustainable this comeback for women conductors will be.