Noida Sector 50 Metro Station Renamed ‘She-Man’ for Transgender Inclusivity

The Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) has renamed the Sector 50 metro station in the Aqua Line as 'She- Man' to promote awareness about the transgender community.

Image only for representational purpose/ PTI

New Delhi: The sector 50 Metro station in the Noida-Greater Noida Metro also known as the Aqua Line has been renamed ‘She-Man’ to promote awareness about the transgender community. According to the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) the station will also have special facilities for the trans-community and will even provide jobs. The decision is along the same lines at the Pink Station which is an all-women run the metro station. A similar step was taken by the Kochi Metro Rail Limited which employed 23 transgenders in 2017. In a PTI report, Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) Managing Director Ritu Maheshwari said that this is a step towards “inclusion and meaningful participation” of the transgender community and that there are 4.9 lakh transgenders in India according to 2011 Census out of which around 30,000 live in NCR. Maheshwari also said the 'She-Man' station although open to all passengers will cater especially to the transgender community and will provide facilities to the trans community in the metro system. She added that structural changes in the station such as a change in restroom infrastructure and the creation of a separate security check for the community are also being considered. In a statement, the NMRC said it will also generate awareness about the community among the other commuters through signages at its stations and announcements inside the trains and stations. The NMRC has also said that they are planning to bring the members of the transgender community into its system by engaging their services in various aspects of the functioning of its system, like ticket counters and other areas through deployed contractors. They will also be given proper training inducting them into the system. For the initiative, the NMRC worked with various NGOs who work closely with the community to understand their challenges. "Transgenders form a major chunk of the commuters that use the metro system to travel. This step by the NMRC will make the travelling experience for this community more enriching," the statement said. The 'Aqua-Line' which started functioning in January 2019, runs between the eponymous twin-cities of Gautam Buddh Nagar covering nearly 30 km over 21 stations. While the initiative has been well received the name of the station has not gone down very well with members of the transgender community. According to The Indian Express report, Anjan Joshi, activist, and co-founder of SPACE Organisation, which works on LGBGTIQ development and rights, said: “What do they mean by She Man? It is an insult to the gender diverse and gender non-conforming community. It is also transphobic as it is looking at gender through a binary lens as man and woman, and not ready to accept other gender identity. ‘She Man’ is a crude joke; it’s not an identity but an insult.”