Traffic signals are both innocuous and of extreme significance. And while we're accustomed to seeing a seemingly male figure within the signal lights signifying whether we should be crossing the road, Mumbai officials are now working to change that.
Maharashtra Environment and Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday took to Twitter lauding the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and more specifically, Ward-GN of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai for its efforts to make the city more "gender equal".
"If you’ve passed by Dadar, you’d see something that will make you feel proud. @mybmcWardGN is ensuring gender equality with a simple idea- the signals now have women too!" he tweeted.
Thackeray applauded the efforts of Assistant Commissioner Kiran Dighavkar as well as Mahim MLA Sada Sarvankar, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar and BMC Chief Iqbal Singh Chahal. "And Ofcourse to add, the constant efforts of Leader of the House in BMC and local corporator Vishakha Raut ji to this (sic)" he tweeted.
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While the reactions, at least as far as the comments section goes, has been somewhat mixed, this is not the first time the city has changed often seen symbols to keep up with the times.
Earlier the city's all-important railway had embraced the "modern woman" outlook, with the picture of a woman with a ‘saree pallu’ draped over her head being replaced with a woman in a business suit on some compartments.
